A shorthanded Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team had two chances in the final 9.7 seconds to win Saturday, but the Skyhawks couldn’t get it done.
The Skyhawks (6-7, 2-5 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) dropped a second game in as many nights on the road, this time 66-65 at the Chicoine Center, the home of the Chadron State College Eagles (3-10, 2-5 RMAC) in Nebraska.
FLC led 65-64 with Kayla Herrera at the foul line with 45 seconds to play. Herrera missed both free throws, and the Eagles had a chance to take the lead. Jessica Harvey missed her initial jump shot, but the Eagles got an offensive rebound and called timeout with 30 seconds to play. Harvey had a second chance and didn’t miss on a short jumper to give the Eagles a 66-65 lead. Harvey also had made two free throws with one minute to play to get the Eagles within one point.
FLC had the ball out of a timeout down 66-65 with 23 seconds to play, but the Skyhawks couldn’t get an inbounds pass in before a five-second violation. With fouls to give, Chadron State had to inbound the ball three times against Fort Lewis. On the third attempt, FLC got Harvey to travel with the ball, and FLC had new life with 9.7 seconds to play.
Herrera had a chance first and drove hard to the basket but missed a short shot, though she fought hard for the rebound. The ball went out of bounds back to Fort Lewis. This time, Sydney Candelaria had a chance to drive, and she, too, came up empty on a short shot near the basket as time expired.
“At some point it comes down to players need to make plays,” FLC head coach Jason Flores said.
“We had our hand on the ball three times and didn’t get a rebound and gave up offensive rebounds. We went 1-for-5 from the floor and we were 2-of-6 at the foul line down the stretch. That killed us.”
While Candelaria and Herrera’s shots in the final 10 seconds came with contact, Flores knew his team would not get a foul call in that situation, especially on the road.
FLC’s leading scorer Jordan Carter was limited to only two points in 12 minutes of play as she battled foul trouble all night. Candelaria led FLC with 17 points, and Herrera scored 16 points. Kaitlyn Romero chipped in 13 points in place of injured freshman guard Alyssa Adams, who the team lost a night earlier in a loss to Metro State University-Denver.
FLC saw the return of senior guard Kelsey Wainright, who played for the first time this season. She scored five points in 10 minutes. Alyssa Yocky led FLC in rebounding with 15 to go with six rebounds.
The FLC bench was outscored 23-11 in a game that saw seven lead chances. Taryn Foxen led the Eagles with 27 points in 37 minutes. She shot 11-of-16, made both of her 3s and added five rebounds and five assists. Harvey finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Angelique Gall had 10 points.
The Skyhawks will return home for a key four-game home stand that will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday against University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (5-8, 4-3 RMAC).
“We can’t put it all on next weekend,” Flores said. “When you dig yourself a hole, every game is important. We put ourselves in a difficult situation, and we have to dig our way out. There’s only one road to go.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com