Fort Lewis FLC 5-12,2-7 RMAC

Colo. Christian CC 5-12,3-6 RMAC

Fort Lewis FLC

5-12,2-7 RMAC

Final

Jan. 23, 2025

Colo. Christian CC

5-12,3-6 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Fort Lewis FLC	17	11	15	19	62
Colo. Christian CC	22	11	15	24	72

Summary
Box Score

Kaitlyn Silva

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 1/23/2025 7:56:00 PM | Angela Roberts, Associate AD-Communications

Skyhawks claw back but drop road contest to Cougars

LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The Skyhawks fought to take a lead midway through the fourth quarter in women's basketball action against Colorado Christian University, but a late scoring surge by the home squad resulted in a 72-62 loss in conference play.

Fort Lewis fell to 5-12 overall and 2-7 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play while Colorado Christian improved to 5-12 on the year and 3-6 in league play.

Fort Lewis shot 39 percent (23-of-59) from the field and 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from three while Colorado Christian was 39 percent (23-of-59) from the field and 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from three. The Cougars were unblemished at the free throw line after going 17-for-17. Colorado Christian claimed a narrow 33-32 advantage in rebounding.

Sophomore Natalie Guanella led the team with 17 points, followed by junior Deniece Ryan with 12. Senior Livia Knapp was the third player in double-figures with 10 points. Senior Darla Hernandez came away with 10 rebounds and added eight points.

Guanella began the evening with a layup in the first possession, and Hernandez followed with a layup to give the Skyhawks a 4-3 lead after a minute. Fort Lewis remained ahead through the midway point of the quarter thanks to another layup by Hernandez to see a 6-5 score. Ryan was the first player from either side to see time at the charity stripe and drained both to extend the lead to three. The Cougars responded with a 4-0 scoring run own a lead at the media break. Fort Lewis experienced a scoring draught over the next two minutes and change thanks to a combination of ball handling and shooting miscues, making it a three-possession lead for Colorado Christian. Fort Lewis got rolling again thanks to six made free throws and ended the quarter trailing 22-17.

Ryan opened the second quarter with a steal before converting a floating jumper to cut the difference to three points. The Cougars added their third three-pointer of the game, followed by a jumper to extend the lead to eight points with 6:25 to go. The Skyhawks eventually benefited from their pesky defensive efforts and scored on back-to-back plays for a 27-23 score with five minutes to go. Guanella's efficient evening continued out of a timeout with her third bucket of the game cutting the deficit to two points and extending Colorado Christian's scoreless stretch to five minutes. The Cougars broke out of their scoreless streak with four points, and Guanella responded with a three-pointer to bring her point total to 11 and bring the teams to halftime in a 33-28 score.

Offensive rebounds kept the Skyhawks in the game early in the third quarter, eventually leading to another bucket from Guanella to make it 33-30. The sophomore kept rolling and combined with Ryan for four points to pull the Skyhawks within one. The teams traded threes out of a timeout, including one from Livia Knapp to make it 38-37 with four minutes on the clock. Turnovers stalled the momentum for Fort Lewis, directly leading to a 5-0 scoring run to increase Colorado Christian's lead to 43-37. Ryan reached double-figures at the 1:51 mark to bring it back to a one-possession game late in the third. Colorado Christian connected on a three with 19 second to go, and Claudia Palacio Gámez nailed a fade away at the buzzer to see a five-point difference after three quarters.

Fort Lewis chipped away at the difference early in the fourth quarter thanks to a pair of jumpers from Hernandez, and Katie Lamb drained a three to see a 53-50 score after two minutes. The Cougars countered with a three of their own, and Lamb responded with another to hold the separation at just three points. Ryan got her team to within one point after two made free throws at the 6:33 mark, and that score carried into the under-five point. The Skyhawks eventually saw their first lead since early in the first quarter after a breakaway by Guanella made it 57-56 with 4:51 remaining. Colorado Christian reclaimed the lead with three made free throws and extended it to five points following a three with two minutes to go. Key rebounding by Colorado Christian was the difference down the stretch, and the home team ended the game on a 13-3 scoring run to earn a 72-62 win.

Fort Lewis (5-12, 2-7 RMAC) will turn its attention to Saturday where it faces UCCS for a 1:00 p.m. tipoff in Colorado Springs.

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