Colorado Mesa CMU 22-5,17-5 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC 2-25,1-20 RMAC

Colorado Mesa CMU

22-5,17-5 RMAC

Final

Feb. 26, 2022

Fort Lewis FLC

2-25,1-20 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Colorado Mesa CMU	20	21	14	22	77
Fort Lewis FLC	11	11	18	14	54

Summary
Box Score

Angela Roberts, FLC Athletic Communications

Candelaria, surrounded by family, coaches, and teammates, was honored on senior night prior to tonight's contest

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 2/26/2022 10:33:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Athletic Communications Assistant

Fort Lewis College Women's Basketball Falls at Home, Honors Candelaria on Senior Night

DURANGO, Colo. – The Fort Lewis College women's basketball team ended its season at home on Saturday night, falling by a final score of 77-54 to Colorado Mesa University. The Skyhawks end the year at 2-25 overall and 1-20 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference while the Mavericks improve to 22-5 on the year and 17-5 in the league.

The game marked the final of redshirt senior Sydney Candelaria's career, but her legacy as a Skyhawks will be etched in the record books for years to come. Candelaria finishes her career ninth all-time in scoring and first all-time in single season scoring with 578 points this season. The Albuquerque native finished the season averaging a league-best 21.4 points per game—good for fifth in all of NCAA DII.

Fort Lewis shot 33.3 percent (19-of-57) from the field compared to 46.7 percent (28-of-60) for Mesa. The Skyhawks were 7-of-24 from beyond the arc versus a 5-of-22 night for the Mavericks. Mesa outrebounded Fort Lewis at a 43-32 clip. Candelaria led all players with 25 points, followed by a 12-point outing for redshirt sophomore Kelsey Sorenson. Sorenson was the team's leader in rebounds with six on the night.

The Mavericks started hot, going up by 12 points before a three from Candelaria cut the deficit with 1:24 to go. Freshman Piper Terry hit a jumper with :36 remaining to get the Skyhawks to double-figures, but the home team would trail 20-11 after one quarter of play.

Fort Lewis opened the second half with five-straight courtesy of Candelaria and Ember Cervantes to pull within four points. The Mavericks answered with a double-digit scoring run to reclaim a commanding lead to 30-16 midway through the second quarter. Candelaria knocked down a jumper in the final minute, but the Mavericks headed into the break with a dominant 41-22 advantage.

The Skyhawks came out of the half on fire from three, getting buckets from Sorenson, Candelaria, and redshirt freshman Jana Conejero to bring the score to 48-31. Candelaria took matters into her own hands over the ensuing minutes, tallying six points to find the Skyhawks down 13 points. The Mavericks earned a pair of points in the final seconds of the quarter to go up 55-40 with 10 minutes to play.

Mesa carried momentum into the fourth quarter, exploding on a 15-0 scoring run to extend the lead to 70-45 before a pair of Candelaria free throws got Fort Lewis on the board. The teams traded points from there, and a late three from redshirt junior Alyssa Adams ended the game in a 77-54 final score.

The Fort Lewis College women's basketball ended its season at home tonight and loses one senior to graduation, Sydney Candelaria, but will look to young players to fill the void in future seasons that are full of promise.

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