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JoJo Lutz, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

Women's basketball welcomes pair of South Dakota foes to Whalen

12/29/2022 12:00:00 PM

By: Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications
DURANGO, Colo. – The Fort Lewis College women's basketball team is back inside of Whalen Gymnasium for its final games of 2022 this week, starting on Friday versus South Dakota Mines and wrapping up on Saturday against Black Hills State University.

Looking Back
The Skyhawks played in a lone Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup before the holiday break. The team traveled to face Westminster College and ran away with a gutsy 63-62 win over the Griffins.

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 10th 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.

Scouting South Dakota Mines
The Hardrockers are 1-11 overall and 1-5 in the conference having lost five in a row. The team's lone win came in an 80-72 final against UCCS at home to begin RMAC play. Six of the team's losses have come by 10 points or fewer, including a 77-75 overtime loss to CSU Pueblo. South Dakota Mines is coming off an 8-20 record in 2021-22 where the group won its final five games.

The Hardrockers are averaging 59.4 points per game while allowing 72.5 points per game from the opposition. They are outrebounding their opponents at a 38.2-36.3 clip. Leading the scoring charge is Piper Bauer at 12.2 points per game, followed by Madelyn Heiser at 8.0 points per game. A handful of players make a positive impact on the defensive front, paced by Sydnee Durtsche at 7.3 rebounds per game to rank ninth in the conference.

Fort Lewis leads the brief all-time series with four wins to three losses. Last season, South Dakota Mines snuck away with a 74-72 win despite being outscored 21-12 in the final quarter.

Scouting Black Hills State
The Yellow Jackets are 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference. Last time out the team picked up a 57-48 win over New Mexico Highlands. The lone conference loss came by a 75-47 final at the hands of Mines on December 10.

BHSU averages 65.6 points per game compared to a 56.9 points per game average from the opposition—a clip that ranks second in the RMAC. The Yellow Jackets lead the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.370) and opponent three-point field goal percentage (.267). Danica Kocer leads the team at 14.6 points per game, followed by Niki Van Wyk's 10.6 points per game.

The Skyhawks are just 1-10 all-time against the Yellow Jackets with the lone win coming in the series opener in 2013. Last season, BHSU earned a 66-38 win in the lone meeting.

Around the RMAC
Colorado School of Mines continues to lead the league with an unblemished 6-0 RMAC record to go along with a 10-1 overall mark. Black Hills State and CSU Pueblo follow at 4-1. From there, it is three programs at 3-2 to round out the top five. Fort Lewis sits eighth with a 2-3 conference record.

The Skyhawks rank sixth in the conference in team three-point field goal percentage at .330 while making roughly six threes per game.

In the national landscape, the RMAC is represented by Mines on the most recent D2SIDA top-25 poll at 12th. Black Hills is receiving votes in the December 20th version of the poll. In the WBCA top-25 poll (voted on by coaches), Mines sits in 10th.

FLC Scoring Leaders
A pair of players have been highlighting the stat sheet for the Skyhawks this season, led by freshman Lanae Billy at 16.5 points per game. Junior Kelsey Sorenson follows at 12.8 points per game on a .448 field goal percentage. In addition to the pair, Fort Lewis has benefited from well-rounded performances from a handful of players. Graduate student Kaitlyn Bell is coming off a key 18-point, 12-rebound game against Westminster—her second double-double of the season. Sophomore Avery Evans has five double-digit scoring games to her credit this season while senior Alyssa Adams erupted for 14 points in the win over Westminster.

Up Next
Fort Lewis remains home for another RMAC weekend on January 6 and 7. The Skyhawks welcome UCCS (3-8, 2-3 RMAC) and Regis University (6-5, 3-2 RMAC) to Whalen for a 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. tipoff.

The Skyhawks lead the all-time series against UCCS by a 13-9 margin but dropped the most recent meeting by a 55-52 final. In the Regis series, Fort Lewis is ahead 14-13 after narrowly falling by a 78-77 final last season.
 
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