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Claudia Palacio Gamez
Kaitlyn Silva

Women's basketball travels to end the 2024 calendar year

12/19/2024 9:00:00 AM

By: Angela Roberts, Associate AD-Communications
DURANGO, Colo. – Women's basketball will take the court one more time to wrap up the 2024 calendar year, facing Northern New Mexico College for a rematch on the Eagles' home court on Thursday.

Skyhawks vs Eagles Round One
Fort Lewis welcomed Northern New Mexico to Whalen Gym on November 23 and won 67-57. Fort Lewis enjoyed a 46.4 percent (26-of-56) shooting night from the field and a 43.5 percent (10-of-23) performance from three—both season-highs. Northern New Mexico was 38.6 percent (17-of-44) from the field and 45 percent (9-of-20) from three while dropping in 14 of 14 free throws. Senior Darla Hernandez led the team with 14 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

Last Time Out
The Skyhawks played their first road conference game of the season last week, falling to Adams State University by a 79-60 final score. The final score doesn't indicate how close the contest truly was as the Grizzlies ended things on a 19-2 scoring run to capture the victory.

Fort Lewis shot 34.4 percent (21-of-61) from the field compared to 52.6 percent (30-of-57) for Adams State. The Skyhawks knocked down seven three-pointers, including five in the third quarter, versus five total for the Grizzlies. Fort Lewis was outrebounded 36-26 and committed 22 turnovers.

Senior Livia Knapp led the team with 18 points, followed by junior Deniece Ryan with 15 points. Freshman Katie Lamb was the third player to reach double-digits with a 14-point, nine-rebound performance. Lamb added three assists and four steals—both team-highs—to her well-rounded outing.

Scouting Northern New Mexico
The Eagles are 9-9 according to their website, but there are several unreported scores at the time of this publication. Through the 18 reported games, the Eagles average 69.9 points per game while shooting 42.1 percent from the field. They come away with 35.4 rebounds, 16.1 turnovers, and 13.6 assists per game.

The individual statistics portion of the breakdown is tricky to follow, so we will look at who did what when the teams met last month. Northern New Mexico was led by Dalys McGuinnis, who scored 20 points after going 4-of-6 from three. Brianna Marquez was the other Eagles player to reach double-figures with 11 points and a team-high five rebounds. In the loss to Fort Lewis, Northern New Mexico committed 33 turnovers and shot 38.6 percent.

Solid Starters
The Skyhawks have found consistency in three players who have started in each of the team's 10 games this season. Seniors Darla Hernandez and Livia Knapp and sophomore Trista Hoobler have been the backbone of Fort Lewis throughout the 2024-25 campaign.

Hernandez has pulled down double-digit rebounds in five of her last games, currently ranking sixth in the conference with 8.1 per game. She leads the team in that category and ranks second in scoring with 9.2 PPG. Knapp leads the team in minutes per game (32.3) and assists per game (2.2). She is shooting a blistering 40 percent from three and has reached double-digit points four times this season. Hoobler enjoyed a breakout game earlier in the season where she totaled 18 points and is the team's second-best free throw shooter at 81.2 percent.

Showing Up for RMAC Play
There have been two exceptionally bright spots for the Skyhawks since the start of conference play, first with junior Deniece Ryan. Ryan is quick and agile with ball-handling skills and the ability to get to the rim, and it seems like everything is clicking at the right time. She is averaging 10.2 points per game overall and 14.8 points per game in conference-only games—a clip that ranks 14th in the league. Her field goal percentage stands out most at 51.2 percent to rank third in the RMAC. Joining her in the up-and-comers is freshman Katie Lamb who's averaging 11.5 points per game off the bench in conference play. Her three-point prowess stands out with a 40.7 percent clip that ranks eighth in the RMAC.

Up Next
Fort Lewis begins the New Year on Saturday, January 4 with its annual Native American Heritage Game, powered by NABI, at the Sun Ute Rec Center in Ignacio. The Skyhawks welcome Navajo Technical University for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.
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