Fort Lewis FLC 0-1,0-0 RMAC

Eastern N.M. EastNM 1-0,0-0 Lone Star

Fort Lewis FLC

0-1,0-0 RMAC

Final

Nov. 10, 2023

Eastern N.M. EastNM

1-0,0-0 Lone Star

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Fort Lewis FLC	14	9	21	13	57
Eastern N.M. EastNM	19	19	19	21	78

Summary
Box Score

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 11/10/2023 8:14:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Assistant AD-Communications

Skyhawks women's basketball drops opener to Greyhounds

PORTALES, N.M. – The Fort Lewis College women's basketball team dropped its season opener by a final of 78-57 to Eastern New Mexico University to open the Conference Crossover on Friday afternoon.

The Skyhawks shot 32.2 percent (19-of-59) from the field compared to a 54.1 percent (33-of-61) mark for the Greyhounds. Fort Lewis dropped in 16 free throws versus eight for ENMU. The teams combined for 58 turnovers on the afternoon.

Senior Kelsey Sorenson led the team with 13 points, followed by redshirt junior Lilly Pepper who debuted with nine. Junior Samantha Wattawa contributed eight points and tied for a team lead with seven rebounds. Junior Sydney Bevington rounded things out with seven points and seven boards.

Despite winning the opening tipoff, the Greyhounds were the first to score, carrying a narrow lead through the opening two minutes. Fort Lewis got on the board courtesy of junior Avery Evans who drove to the rim to knot the score. Despite the Skyhawks defense holding ENMU off the board for three minutes, the home team eventually enjoyed a 6-2 scoring run to go ahead 10-6. The Skyhawks went to work at the charity stripe, draining all six attempts to end the quarter trailing 19-14.

The Greyhounds began the second quarter with their second three of the contest, followed by a fast break layup to extend the lead to 24-14. The following minute of play saw Sorenson contribute four points, capped off by a made layup versus two defenders to make it 24-19. After pulling within five points, ENMU went on a run to make it a 10-point contest with five minutes to go in the half. Bevington went on to make a free throw, snapping a four-minute scoreless streak, to make it 34-21 with two minutes on the clock. Bevington ended the half with a driving layup to see her Skyhawks team down 38-23.

Pepper got Fort Lewis started out of the timeout with three points, followed by a layup from freshman Natalie Guanella. Wattawa went to work and cut the deficit to just three points at the midway point of the quarter, but ENMU responded with a three to build it back. Sophomore Lanae Billy hit her first three of the game with under three minutes to play, making it 50-44 in favor of the Greyhounds. Despite the late push, the Greyhounds ended the third quarter on a seven-point run to hold a 57-44 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

The home team extended the lead early in the fourth quarter before Sorenson could get the Skyhawks on the board from the free-throw line. The teams traded points from there before a 10-0 scoring surge had the Greyhounds up 78-55 with under one minute to play. Senior Ember Cervantes scored once more with a late layup as time expired on a 78-57 final.

Up Next
Fort Lewis (0-1) will close out the opening weekend tomorrow at noon against Western New Mexico. Fort Lewis earned its first win of the season over Western New Mexico last season, claiming a 66-57 route to close out the Conference Challenge in Las Vegas, N.M. Billy led the team with 17 points, followed by Evans who put up 13 points to go along with four steals. The Skyhawks are 21-3 all-time against the Mustangs, including seven straight wins from 2013 to 2017.

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