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Brooke McGee
JoJo Lutz, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications
Brooke McGee (30) is one of four players who will be honored on Senior Day next Saturday (Feb. 25)

Women's basketball set for regular-season road finale

2/16/2023 9:26:00 AM

By: Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications
DURANGO, Colo. – The Skyhawks are heading north for the regular-season road finale this week, first with a rematch versus Black Hills State University before capping off the trip against South Dakota Mines.

Looking Back
Fort Lewis was 1-1 last week, opening up the competition on Friday with a 69-53 win over Western Colorado University on the road. The Skyhawks shot 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the field compared to a 39.1 percent (18-of-46) mark for the Mountaineers. Fort Lewis was efficient from three, shooting 45.5 percent (5-of-11) versus a 32 percent (8-of-25) clip for Western Colorado. A difference marker can via free throws where Fort Lewis drained 20 compared to just nine for Western Colorado. Despite 10 lead changes and three ties, the Skyhawks led for nearly 35 minutes of play.

The team was led by junior Kelsey Sorenson who turned in her fourth game with 20+ points, racking up 21 points (6-of-14 FG, 8-of-9 FT) on the night. Freshman Lanae Billy followed with 14 points (4-of-6 FG), followed by graduate student Kaitlyn Bell who finished the night with 13 points (5-of-10 FG).

The team followed it up with a home loss to Black Hills State University on Monday, falling by a final score of 76-61. The Skyhawks shot 50 percent (20-of-40) from the field, the fourth-best mark of the season, compared to a 47.2 percent (25-of-53) clip for the Yellow Jackets. Fort Lewis was equally as efficient from three, draining 10 on a 47.6 percent mark—second best this year. The difference in the game came via the turnovers where the Skyhawks committed 22, resulting in 22 points for the opposition.

Billy led all players with 25 points while going 9-of-10 from the field and 5-of-6 from three. The outing was her 10th 20+ point game of the season. Freshman Kate Gallery came off the bench for eight points, followed by a seven-point, five-rebound night for Bell.

Sorenson Earns RMAC Offensive Player of the Week Honors
Kelsey Sorenson was named the Week 13 RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, the first honor of her career, after averaging a conference-best 26 points per game last week. The Price, Utah native was 19-of-29 from the field in the weekend split, including a 13-of-15 mark last Tuesday versus Adams State University. Her ASU stat line lent to a 31-point outing which established a career high for her time in the blue and gold. Sorenson followed that up with her fourth 20+ point outing in Saturday's win over Western Colorado University.

Sorenson ranks sixth in the conference in points per game (15.0) and fifth in rebounds per game (7.5). Her field goal percentage of 49.6 ranks seventh among all conference players.

Scouting Black Hills State University
BHSU is 18-6 overall and 13-5 in conference play after going 2-1 last week. The team earned wins over UCCS (59-56) and Fort Lewis (76-61) and falling to Regis (67-53).

The Yellow Jackets lead the conference in points allowed per game at 56.7 for a margin of 5.1. They are also leading the way in three-point field goal percentage (35.1) with 7.2 made threes per game. The duo of Danica Kocer and Niki Van Wyk lead the team in scoring at 13.3 and 11.7 points per game, respectively. BHSU has seven players averaging three or more rebounds per game for a team average of 35.6 rebounds per game.

Scouting South Dakota Mines
South Dakota Mines is 3-21 overall and 3-15 in conference play following winless weekend. The team is riding an eight-game losing streak which dates back to mid-January. The team's most recent win came on January 14 against Westminster College (70-69).

The Hardrockers are shooting 31.9 percent from three to rank sixth in the conference to go along with a mark of 36.9 rebounds per game (7th in RMAC). Piper Bauer leads the conference in made threes with 75 for a points per game average of 13.7. Sydnee Durtsche leads the team with 7.1 rebounds per game this season.

Around the RMAC
Regis University dethroned Colorado School of Mines for first place in the conference standings last week. Regis sits at 16-3 in conference play while Mines owns at 15-3 record after dropping a 59-52 game to Colorado Mesa last week.

In the national landscape, the RMAC is represented by Mines on the most recent D2SIDA top-25 poll, ranking 14th overall—up four spots from the week prior. In the WBCA top-25 poll (voted on by coaches), Mines sits in 20th. The Orediggers are the top-ranked RMAC team in the South Central Regional poll, followed by Regis (6th), Adams State (8th), and Black Hills State (9th).

Inside the Numbers
Freshman Lanae Billy continues to pace the team by averaging 17.3 points per game—second in the RMAC. Billy has surpassed 20 points on 10 occasions, including a season-high 29-point outing three weeks ago versus Chadron State. Junior Kelsey Sorenson follows by averaging 14.4 points per game (8th in RMAC) to go along with 7.3 rebounds per game (7th in RMAC). Sorenson earned a career-high with 31 points last week after going 13-of-15 from the field.

Sophomore Avery Evan ranks third on the team by averaging eight points per game, followed by graduate student Kaitlyn Bell at 5.7 points per game. Bell's 5.5 rebounds per game are second on the roster.
Looking at the team's wins this season; each victory has come when the group scores 57 points per game or more. The Skyhawks are 5-0 when holding their opponents to fewer than 60 points.

Up Next
Fort Lewis is home for the final time next week, taking on MSU Denver and Colorado School of Mines to wrap up the regular-season on Friday and Saturday.
 
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