N.M. Highlands NMH 3-4,2-1 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC 5-4,2-1 RMAC

N.M. Highlands NMH

3-4,2-1 RMAC

Final

Dec. 08, 2023

Fort Lewis FLC

5-4,2-1 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
N.M. Highlands NMH	10	9	24	14	57
Fort Lewis FLC	8	22	12	22	64

Summary
Box Score

JoJo Lutz, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

Sophomore Kate Gallery had a career-high 19 points in the win over NMHU on Friday

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 12/8/2023 8:01:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Assistant AD-Communications

Late push leads women’s basketball to 64-57 win over New Mexico Highlands

DURANGO, Colo. – Benefiting from late scoring surges in both the second and fourth quarters, the Fort Lewis College women's basketball emerged victorious in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup against New Mexico Highlands University on Friday night.

The Skyhawks improved to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play while the Cowgirls dropped to 3-4 on the year and 2-1 in league play.

Fort Lewis shot 38.2 percent (22-of-51) from the field compared to a 35.6 percent (21-of-59) mark for New Mexico Highlands. The Skyhawks got to the free throw line 23 times in the contest, their sixth 20+ attempt game of the season, and converted 15 chances. The team was nine of ten in the final quarter to solidify the win.

Sophomore Kate Gallery led the Skyhawks with a career-high 19 points, her fifth double-digit outing in the last six games. She was followed by junior Lanae Billy who recorded 13 points. Junior Samantha Wattawa came away with her first career double-double after scoring 12 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Senior Kelsey Sorenson started and played 25 minutes after missing five games due to injury, and she made an immediate difference with eight rebounds and four assists.

The Cowgirls opened the first quarter with a three-pointer and eventually doubled their lead with another at the 6:41 mark. Fort Lewis got on the board just past the midway point of the quarter thanks to a Wattawa jumper, and NMHU responded on its following possession to make it 10-2. Senior Ember Cervantes and junior Sadie Misner closed out the quarter by draining a pair of threes to make it 10-8.

Fort Lewis' most explosive quarter kicked off with a game-tying jumper from Sorenson just 13 seconds into play. The lead swapped sides from there, and a pair of made threes by Gallery managed to extend the advantage at 18-16. Sorenson and Wattawa combined for five points to extend the lead before a three from the Cowgirls slowed the momentum. Fort Lewis forged on and earned two three-pointers down the stretch, including a buzzer-beater by Billy to hold a 30-19 lead at the half.

Out of the break, the Cowgirls kicked off their most effective quarter with a jumper at the 9:33 mark. Both sides saw shots fall over the following three minutes, but NMHU connected more frequently and trimmed the lead to just two points with 2:51 on the clock. Billy got two points back at the charity stripe, but late effort by the Cowgirls saw the lead swap sides in the final seconds.

In the fourth quarter, Wattawa and Gallery immediately went to work to reclaim the lead with a combined four points. The Cowgirls drained a jumper and followed it up with a three-point play to reclaim the lead at 50-46. Gallery followed suit with buckets on back-to-back possessions to make it 51-50 in favor of the Skyhawks. The teams were neck and neck late in the quarter, but free throws fell for Fort Lewis and allowed the home team to pull away. The Skyhawks ended the contest on a six-point scoring run to secure the win.

Up Next
Fort Lewis (5-4, 2-1 RMAC) will wrap up the weekend with an RMAC game against CSU Pueblo (5-5, 1-2 RMAC). The Pack is coming off a 69-62 loss to Adams State University on Friday night.

Tomorrow's game is tabbed as the Whalen Winter Wonderland and Donation Day. Fans are encouraged not only to dress up in their favorite holiday-themed sweaters, but also to bring various gift donation for those in need this holiday season. Each gift item valued at $10 or more is worth one free admission ticket to Saturday's games.

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