Black Hills St. BHSU 15-8,12-7 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC 12-13,9-10 RMAC

Black Hills St. BHSU

15-8,12-7 RMAC

Final

Feb. 23, 2024

Fort Lewis FLC

12-13,9-10 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Black Hills St. BHSU	16	27	17	27	87
Fort Lewis FLC	26	7	10	10	53

Summary
Box Score

Kaitlyn Silva

Sophomore Samatha Wattawa (21) led the team with five rebounds in a loss to BHSU

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 2/23/2024 9:46:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Assistant AD-Communications

Women's basketball falls to Black Hills State

DURANGO, Colo. – The Skyhawks women's basketball team started hot but faded away in an 87-53 loss to Black Hills State University in conference play on Friday night.

With the loss, Fort Lewis dropped to 12-13 overall and 9-10 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. Black Hills State improved to 15-8 on the year and 12-7 in league play.

After shooting a blistering 66.7 percent in the opening quarter, the Skyhawks settled for a 38.4 percent (18-of-47) clip for the game. Fort Lewis shot 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from deep and 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from the free throw line. The Yellow Jackets recorded a field goal percentage of 56.3 (36-of-64) to go along with a 47.6 percent (10-of-21) clip from three. Black Hills State came away with 40 rebounds compared to 20 for Fort Lewis.

Sophomore Lanae Billy led the team with 14 points and four steals. Junior Samantha Wattawa followed with eight points and five rebounds. Senior Kelsey Sorenson matched Wattawa with eight points while freshman Trista Hoobler contributed six. The Yellow Jackets were paced by Ellie Moore's 18 points.

The Skyhawks got off to a hot start with baskets from Billy on back-to-back possessions to see a quick lead. The Yellow Jackets responded with their first make at the 8:34 mark, and Sorenson made it another five-point lead on the following play. The teams traded layups at the seven-minute mark, and Fort Lewis went on to extend the lead to 13-6 with five minutes remaining. Black Hills State cut into the lead with a trio of made driving layups, pulling within three points with 2:42 to go. Billy and Wattawa knocked down three-pointers in the final minute of play to see a 26-16 Skyhawks lead.

Black Hills State got to work immediately in the second quarter with a 15-point scoring run to capture a 31-25 lead with under six minutes on the clock. Senior Ember Cervantes snapped the streak with a made free throw, but the Yellow Jackets continued to knock down shots from beyond the arc to stretch the lead to 37-29. Sophomore Kate Gallery and Wattawa combined for four points down the stretch, but an explosive quarter for the visitors made it 43-33 Yellow Jackets at the half.

Out of the break, the teams traded buckets to push the score to 50-37. There were two minutes of scoreless hoops, broken by a Black Hills State jumper to extend the lead to 15 points. The Skyhawks spent time at the charity stripe, making four shots to hold the separation at 15. The final minute of the third quarter featured a layup by the Yellow Jackets to carry a 60-43 lead into the fourth.

It was another run, this time a 10-point burst, that opened the quarter for Black Hills State. Freshman Natalie Guanella put a halt to the visitor's scoring with a jumper, but the Yellow Jackets responded and extended the lead to 31 points with just over five minutes remaining. Hoobler hit a three-pointer late, and Guanella closed out Fort Lewis' scoring as time expired on an 87-53 loss.

Up Next
Fort Lewis (12-13, 9-10 RMAC) will play its final home game of the season tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. against South Dakota Mines (5-20, 5-14 RMAC). Prior to tip-off, the Skyhawks will honor the senior duo of Ember Cervantes and Kelsey Sorenson.

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