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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

WBB
Edward Jacobs Jr.
69
Fort Lewis FLC 2-12,1-7 RMAC
75
Winner MSU Denver MSUD 7-4,3-3 RMAC
Fort Lewis FLC
2-12,1-7 RMAC
69
Final
75
MSU Denver MSUD
7-4,3-3 RMAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Fort Lewis FLC 11 19 22 17 69
MSU Denver MSUD 18 26 19 12 75

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Angela Roberts, Athletic Communications Assistant

Candelaria's Career-High Not Enough as Skyhawks Fall to Roadrunners, 75-69

DENVER, Colo. – Despite a strong second-half effort, the Fort Lewis College women's basketball team dropped a 75-69 contest to MSU Denver in Friday night Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. Redshirt senior Sydney Candelaria proved herself once again, putting up a career-high 33 points to lead all players.

Fort Lewis falls to 2-12 overall and 1-7 in league play while MSU Denver improves to 7-4 on the year and 3-3 in conference play.

"Similar to Tuesday, being down at halftime, we just had to make a big time decision to execute the game plan," said head coach Taylor Harris. "We have a rough first quarter with missed shots, turnovers, and fouls which you could see carry over to the second quarter. Our team made the effort to regroup and move forward with a clean slate, and I thought they did a great job."

Fort Lewis shot 40.0 percent (26-of-65) from the field compared to 43.6 percent (24-of-55) for MSU Denver. Both teams hit eight three-pointers for the contest. The Roadrunners came away with 47 rebounds (12 offensive) while the Skyhawks totaled 31 (8 offensive).

Candelaria stole the show from the jump, totaling a career-high 33 points (14-of-29 FG) despite finding herself under pressure for the majority of her 40 minutes of action. Redshirt junior Alyssa Adams and freshman Piper Terry each chipped in nine points. Candelaria was the leading rebounder with eight, followed by a seven-rebound performance from redshirt freshman Jana Conejero.

"Sydney is a very special player. 33 points speaks to what a gifted athlete she is. When she is the focal point of every team's defensive game plan, it's much more difficult to have consistent scoring output night in and night out. Being the leading scorer in the conference, I hope she starts getting the recognition she deserves," acknowledged Harris. 

The Roadrunners were the first to strike, dropping in an inbound jumper for the one score advantage. Defense dominated the following possessions, forcing a Fort Lewis timeout with the team trailing 5-0 after three minutes of play. The troubles continued as turnovers and fouls allowed for a 9-0 Roadrunner lead.

It was redshirt sophomore Kelsey Sorenson who got the Skyhawks on the board, driving in a layup to bring things to 9-2 with just over four minutes remaining in the opener. MSU Denver added to the lead, taking advantage of offensive boards en route to a 16-4 lead with 2:41 to go. Redshirt junior Brooke McGee got in on the scoring action, converting a no-look feed from Adams to shift the score to 18-11 as time expired.

The teams traded points to begin the second quarter, but the Skyhawks couldn't find scoring momentum to cut into the deficit. Candelaria continued going to her bread and butter when the team needed her, dropping in her ninth point of the night on a driving layup for a 29-17 score. It would be Candelaria again, this time halting a 5-0 MSU Denver scoring run to send the score to 37-19 with 3:30 remaining in the half.

Terry hit the team's first shot from beyond the arc, followed by another Candelaria bucket to see the score at 39-24. Following the brief scoring surge, Fort Lewis benefited from free throw shooting to send the teams into the break with a 44-30 score.

Candelaria led all players with 16 points through two-quarters of play, followed by Sorenson's four points. MSU Denver was 5-of-9 from three compared to a 1-of-7 mark for Fort Lewis. MSU Denver shot 53 percent from the field versus 40 percent for Fort Lewis. The teams combined for 18 turnovers.

MSU Denver delivered another three to kick off the second half, but the Skyhawks continued to drive to the rim to keep the lead in check. Adams found success from long range, bringing the score to 52-39 with just under six minutes remaining in the third. Candelaria remained stout on the offensive end, dropping in a fast break and free throw to see the Skyhawks down by 10 points. Fort Lewis pulled within nine points after a three-pointer from McGee sailed through the rim for a 58-49 score with 3:16 to go.

The Roadrunners responded with a three of their own, followed by a layup to send the teams into a timeout at 63-49. Conejero got the Skyhawks going out of the timeout with a deep three to bring it to 63-52. Candelaria attempted a three at the buzzer, but the shot didn't fall as the score held at 63-52 heading into the final quarter. Fort Lewis outscore MSU Denver 22-19 in the third quarter, benefitting from a trio of threes to push the efficiency to 30.8 percent for the night.

Long-range was the name of the game to kick off the fourth quarter with Candelaria's 27th points of the night bringing the score to 63-55 with under eight minutes to play. MSU Denver built the lead back to 11 points with five minutes to play as the Skyhawks called a timeout to settle things down. The Roadrunners padded the lead by a pair with a put-back layup, and the defense of the home squad held the Skyhawks scoreless going into the final three minutes. Adams connected on a free throw which pushed the score to 68-57 with the clock dwindling to two minutes.

Another mid-range jumper from Candelaria cut the lead to single digits with Harris calling a quick timeout as the clock sat at 1:43. The Roadrunners committed a turnover out of a second timeout, resulting in a clutch three from Terry to narrow the lead to just six points. From there, both teams lit it up offensively and traded a handful of shots to bring it to 72-67 with 40 seconds remaining. A quick layup from Terry moved the score to 73-69 with 8.6 seconds to go, bringing on another timeout for the Skyhawks to formulate a defensive game plan. The Skyhawks quickly fouled a Roadrunner out of the break, but both shots fell as the clock expired on a 75-69 final score.

"The group has never given up. Any adversity thrown our way has only strengthened us. This team fights and plays hard until the end, and while the payoff in the wins isn't showing up like we'd hope, it's teaching us valuable life lessons that are going to make our team better leaders in society when basketball ends," said Harris. 

Fort Lewis (2-12, 1-7 RMAC) is back in action tomorrow for a 5:00 p.m. contest versus Colorado Christian University (5-6, 2-3 RMAC). The Skyhawks are looking to sweep the series against the Cougars after clinching a 67-66 thriller at home on December 11.
 
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