Though it has been nearly two weeks since the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team took the floor, the Skyhawks are hoping to return for the new year right where they left off.
In the team’s last game, FLC dismantled Western State in a 39-point road win in which every Skyhawk played and scored. On Friday and Saturday, they’ll look to recapture the magic as they host UC-Colorado Springs and Metro State, respectively.
“We’ve had a couple of good practices this week, and I think everyone came back from the break mentally refreshed,” Fort Lewis head coach Jason Flores said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We’re heading into the heart of the conference schedule, so everyone’s excited and ready to get back at it.”
The Skyhawks (7-3, 3-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) started the conference schedule with a 106-65 rout of Adams State but haven’t been able to string wins together within the tough conference schedule.
A tough one-point home loss to Colorado School of Mines came next, and the Fort Lewis women have alternated wins and losses ever since.
Before beating up on Western State, FLC struggled in a 14-point loss at CSU-Pueblo, but a win Friday would break the trend.
“We had a really bad taste in our mouths after the loss in Pueblo,” Flores said. “The win (against Western State) was fun, and it was nice to head into the break with that performance in the back of our minds, so hopefully it’ll be something we build off of.”
UC-Colorado Springs (6-5, 2-3 RMAC) and Metro State (5-6, 3-2 RMAC) are in the top half of the RMAC’s Rocky Division. The Mountain Lions will come into Friday’s matchup having lost two consecutive games and three out of the last four.
The Skyhawks will have to focus on stopping some of the conference’s leading scorers if they hope to start the year with two wins.
Brittany Hernandez is a major force down low for UCCS. She has averaged more than 20 points per game and is among the RMAC’s top 10 in rebounding and blocked shots.
In Saturday’s matchup with Metro State, Hannah Stipanovich will be the one to watch. Stipanovich is fourth in the RMAC averaging 15.2 points per game.
It’ll be a tough task for Skyhawks’ interior presence Mary Rambo, but Rambo is up for the challenge. She’s already won an RMAC Defensive Player of the Week award this season and, when she forces bad shots, she doesn’t allow second chances. Rambo is second in the conference with 7.8 rebounds per game.
If they can come up with stops on the defensive end, the Skyhawks have a good chance any night. Astrea Reed leads the team averaging 11.6 points per game, but the Skyhawks have an arsenal of offensive weapons. The high-powered FLC offense leads the RMAC with a 73.7 points per game average.
Friday’s game with UC-Colorado Springs will begin at noon ,and Saturday’s matchup with Metro State is a 5:30 p.m. start.
“No matter what the records say, these are two really good programs we’ll be facing this weekend,” Flores said. “Everyone in this league is dangerous, so I expect two competitive basketball games that we’ll need to be at our best to win.”
jfries@durangoherald.com