Fort Lewis FLC 10-8,7-5 RMAC

Colorado Mesa CMU 15-4,9-3 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC

10-8,7-5 RMAC

Final

Jan. 26, 2024

Colorado Mesa CMU

15-4,9-3 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Fort Lewis FLC	19	28	11	13	71
Colorado Mesa CMU	25	25	15	22	87

Summary
Box Score

Hayden Mangan, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

Sophomore Lanae Billy (32) led all players with 21 points in Friday's game versus CMU

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 1/26/2024 7:30:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Assistant AD-Communications

Women's basketball falls to Colorado Mesa in high-scoring affair, 87-71

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – A late run by Colorado Mesa University resulted in an 87-71 road loss for the Fort Lewis College women's basketball team in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play on Friday evening.

Fort Lewis dropped to 10-8 overall and 7-5 in RMAC play while Colorado Mesa improved to 15-4 on the year and 9-3 in league play.

The Mavericks benefited from sharp shooting beyond the arc, making 15 three-pointers compared to four for the Skyhawks. Fort Lewis held a narrow edge at the free throw line, making 23 versus 22 for Colorado Mesa. Fort Lewis shot 44 percent (22-of-50) from the field compared to a 45 percent (25-of-55) clip for Colorado Mesa. The Mavericks outrebounded the Skyhawks 43-20.

Sophomore Lanae Billy led the team with 21 points, followed by juniors Avery Evans and Samantha Wattawa who each recorded 11 points. Senior Kelsey Sorenson and sophomore Kate Gallery followed with nine points apiece.

The Skyhawks enjoyed an early 4-2 advantage thanks to Sorenson and Billy, each scoring on their first attempts for the lead. Colorado Mesa came back with five quick points, but Fort Lewis responded with buckets from Billy and Evans for a one-point edge with just over five minutes on the clock. Wattawa extended the lead to 12-7 with back-to-back layups and pushing her team to an eight point scoring run. The Mavericks broke their three-minute scoreless streak with a pair of made free throws to pull within three at the 3:40 mark. The three-ball started to fall for Colorado Mesa in the ensuing minutes to flip the lead in favor of the home team, 18-12. Billy nailed a long three out of a quick timeout, but the Mavericks did the same and entered the second quarter with a 25-19 lead. The Mavericks benefited from 5-of-7 shooting beyond the arc in the opener.

The teams traded points early in the second quarter, Fort Lewis scoring via the layup and Colorado Mesa continuing to dominate from deep for a 32-25 score. Free throws comprised the game's next two minutes before a layup from Gallery snapped the spell for a 36-30 score with under six minutes remaining. Colorado Mesa saw its largest lead of the night by way of its 11^th made three-pointer to make it 42-31, but Billy followed it up with two made free throws to cut the deficit. The Skyhawks broke through from beyond the arc at the 3:58 mark thanks to a corner three to send the teams into a media timeout with a 42-36 score. The Skyhawks enjoyed a 6-0 scoring run into the two-minute warning to pull within five points, and Billy nailed her third three of the half moments later to see the score at 50-47. That score held at the buzzer with both teams riding momentum into the locker room.

It was all Colorado Mesa in the opening three minutes of the third quarter as the home team extended the lead to 58-47 thanks to continued sharpness from three. Evans eventually got Fort Lewis on the board with her second made layup of the night to see the score at 61-49. Misner followed at the 4:31 mark with a layup of her own to keep the Skyhawks within 12 points. Gallery kept the momentum rolling out of a timeout by dropping in a hook shot to make it 63-53. The Skyhawks remained within striking distance down the stretch with an onslaught of made free throws to make it 65-58 heading into the final quarter of play.

Misner kicked off the fourth quarter with a hit jumper see a 65-60 score, a margin that held until for three minutes until Colorado Mesa scored a pair from the stripe. The teams broke through with made shots over the next 90 seconds, capped off by two free throws from Misner to make it 69-64. The three-ball went quiet for the Mavericks for nearly a quarter, but the team managed to connect when it mattered and extended the lead to 75-65 with under four minutes remaining. Gallery connected on a three of her own on the following possession to cut the lead to seven points. The ball fell in favor of Colorado Mesa twice more as the clock ticked under two minutes to extend the lead to 13 points. The Mavericks continued to roll down the stretch, using the energy from a large home crowd, to close out the contest with an 87-71 final

Up Next
Fort Lewis (10-7, 7-5 RMAC) will travel to face Westminster University (3-15, 1-11 RMAC) tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. in Salt Lake City.

Fort Lewis is 10-6 all-time against Westminster, including a 58-52 home win on December 16th. Gallery led the team with 19 points in the win.

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