Fort Lewis FLC 5-6,2-3 RMAC

Westminster (UT) WC-UT 5-6,3-2 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC

5-6,2-3 RMAC

Final

Dec. 17, 2022

Westminster (UT) WC-UT

5-6,3-2 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Fort Lewis FLC	19	10	15	19	63
Westminster (UT) WC-UT	11	15	18	18	62

Summary
Box Score

Avery Evans had a season-high 13 points and four assists in the win over Westminster

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 12/17/2022 5:11:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications

Offensive distribution leads Skyhawks to road win over Griffins

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Double-digit points from four Skyhawks resulted in a 63-62 rout of the Griffins in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon. Fort Lewis improves to 5-6 overall and 2-3 in the RMAC while Westminster drops to 5-6, 3-2 RMAC.

Graduate student Kaitlyn Bell led the team with a season-high 18 points to go along with 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Senior Alyssa Adams followed with a season-high 14 points—all of which came in the second half. Freshman Lanae Billy had 14 points for her 10^th double-digit outing of the season. Sophomore Avery Evans matched a season-high with 13 points while dishing out four assists.

The Skyhawks shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field versus a 41.8 percent (23-of-55) clip for the Griffins. The teams were nearly even from three and from the free-throw line, but Westminster edged out Fort Lewis in rebounds, 36-31. The game saw 10 tied scores, many of which came in the second half, but Fort Lewis held the lead for 31 minutes of play.

"Tonight we focused on our one goal, and that is to play as a team," said head coach Taylor Harris. "Westminster did a good job of taking away Lanae, and Kaitlyn did a great job of asserting herself against a great post in our league. Kaitlyn and Alyssa played like the veterans they are. On the road against good teams, your veterans have to play well, and I'm proud of their efforts tonight."

Fort Lewis won the opening tip and took control from there, going ahead 5-2 thanks to baskets from Bell and Billy. The teams traded scoreless possessions over the following minutes before a layup by Billy sent the Skyhawks into a timeout ahead 9-4. The Griffins came out of the break with back-to-back makes to see the score knotted at 9-9 with under three minutes to play. Fort Lewis went on to enjoy a 10-2 scoring surge to carry a 19-11 edge into the second quarter. Billy had 11 points in the opening quarter, followed by four from Evans.

Westminster benefited from a pair of blocks to open the second quarter and managed to make it a tie game at 19-19 with 6:29 on the clock. Bell ended a four-minute scoring drought with layups on back-to-back possessions to make it 23-21 in favor of Fort Lewis. The advantage wouldn't last, though, as the league's second-leading scorer, Ashley Greenwood, drained a pair of free throws to tie it at 23 apiece. The Skyhawks jumped ahead with two makes from beyond the arc to see the score at 29-26 at halftime.

Fort Lewis shot 40.7 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three in the half versus 36.7 and 25 percent marks for Westminster.

Points from Greenwood allowed for the Griffins to reclaim the lead in the early goings of the third quarter before Bell's fifth bucket of the afternoon had Fort Lewis up 31-30. The teams went blow for blow from there, exchanging the lead a handful of times in part to an offensive takeover by Alyssa Adams. Westminster landed the final blow with a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to knot things at 44-44 with one quarter to go.

Adams continued to roll into the fourth quarter, landing a trio of shots to put her team ahead 51-46. Each attempt to add separation to the score was countered with a three-point make for Westminster as the lead was two points with 2:24 to go. Evans put the nail in the coffin on her following possession, connecting on her third three-pointer to make it 62-58 with 35 seconds remaining. Both teams used the remainder of their timeouts in the final seconds of play, and Westminster managed to pull within four on makes from the stripe. A late steal resulted in a three-point make at the buzzer for the Griffins, but the buzzer sounded on a 63-62 final in favor of Fort Lewis.

"Avery hit big shots late in the fourth, but all of this wouldn't have been possible without Lanae setting the tone early. We had a great sense of urgency defensively. We typically have great starts, and tonight we had a wonderful finish," ended Harris.

The Skyhawks (5-6, 2-3 RMAC) will have a break for the holidays before kicking it back into gear for a pair of home games to close out 2022. First, the team will take on South Dakota Mines on Friday December 30 at 3:00 p.m. The year will end with a 3:30 p.m. tip-off against Black Hills State on Saturday, December 31.

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