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Angela Roberts, FLC Athletic Communications
The Skyhawks closed out the exhibition portion of their schedule against the University of New Mexico

Women's basketball opens 2022-23 season at RMAC/Lone Star Conference Challenge

11/10/2022 2:00:00 PM

By: Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications
DURANGO, Colo. – For the second-straight season, the Fort Lewis College women's basketball team will tip off the 2022-23 season at RMAC/Lone Star Conference Challenge. The Skyhawks will mirror the openers from last season by taking on Eastern New Mexico University and Western New Mexico University.

Looking back: 2022 Conference Challenge
The Skyhawks fell in their season openers last season at the WNMU Fieldhouse in Silver City, New Mexico. In the game versus Eastern New Mexico, Kelsey Sorenson put up 10 points to go along with a team-best six rebounds. Ava Strange contributed eight points and ranked second with four rebounds. Sorenson followed up her double-digit outing with a team-best 17 points in the following game against Western New Mexico. The Utah native also added 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

Scouting Eastern New Mexico University
Playing in the ever-tough Lone Star Conference, the Greyhounds finished the 2021-22 season with a 10-14 overall record and a 6-10 clip in league play. ENMU was 5-4 at home, 3-10 on the road, and 2-0 in neutral-site games. The Greyhounds played in the opening round of the LSC Tournament and fell by an 88-85 final to No. 6-seeded Cameron University to close out the season.

ENMU is projected to finish 10th in the conference in the Preseason Coaches Poll. The Greyhounds add nine new student-athletes to the roster and return four players who saw significant time last season. Bella Stone returns to the hardwood having started in 18 games last season. The sophomore averaged 3.9 points per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, and 1.9 assists per game as a true freshman.

The Greyhounds welcomed the addition of a pair of NCAA Division I transfers, Edecia Beck and Lazurea Saunders. Beck played in 16 games last season for Wright State, averaging 7.7 PPG and 4.5 RPG. Saunders joins the team from Alabama A&M and played in 31 games with 22 starts during her time with the Bulldogs.

Fort Lewis is 9-3 all-time against Eastern New Mexico, dating back to the rivalries' first contest on November 15, 2007.

Scouting Western New Mexico University
The Mustangs closed out the 2021-22 campaign with a 6-17 overall record and a 2-13 mark in LSC competition. WNMU was 6-8 at home and 0-9 on the road last season. The team picked up conference wins over UT Permian Basin (69-65) and Texas A&M International (61-51). The Mustangs were projected to finish 16th in the LSC Preseason Coaches Poll.

Ten newcomers are joining the roster for the 2022-23 season, the largest recruiting class since head coach Josh Pace took over the program. Abigail Walter returns as the team's leading scorer after averaging 8.0 points per game in 12 games last season. As a team, the Greyhounds averaged 53.5 points per game and 38.1 rebounds per game a year ago. They shot 35.8 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from three. The nail in the coffin came via turnovers where the team averaged 20.3 per game compared to 13.3 from the opposition.

Fort Lewis is 20-3 all-time against WNMU and was 17-1 against the foe when the teams played in the same conference. The series history dates back to a 93-48 win on January 28, 2008.

Closely contested in 2021-22
To a casual viewer, it may have seemed like the Skyhawks were outmatched throughout the season in 2021-22, but that was not always the case. The team came out on the losing end of 10 games that were decided by four points or fewer. If Fort Lewis can figure out a way to win those tight games this season, fans are in store for an exciting season.

Home opener: Nike N7
The Fort Lewis College basketball programs are excited to announce the home openers for our men's and women's basketball teams in the 2022-23 season. The Skyhawks will host the annual Nike N7 Games versus Northern New Mexico College on Friday, November 18th. The evening will begin with a neutral site contest between Adams State and Texas Permian Basin, followed by the Skyhawks men at 5:30 p.m. and the Skyhawks women at 7:30 p.m.

Since its creation in 2009, the Nike N7 Fund has awarded more than $7.5 million in grants to 259 Native American and Aboriginal communities and organizations, reaching more than 500,000 youths. The N7 Fund supports organizations that provide sports and physical activity programming to youth in these communities.

This year's Nike N7 Games mark the fifth time Fort Lewis College has been selected as one of only 11 institutions nationwide — Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Gonzaga, Florida State, Marquette, University of New Mexico, San Diego State, Stanford, Haskell Indian Nations, Mesa Community College, and Fort Lewis College — to participate in the games, which are held in November in celebration of Native American Heritage Month.
 
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