Playing at home is sweet relief for the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team, which opened the season playing five of its first six games on the road.
The winless Adams State Grizzlies (0-6, 0-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) provide a bit of a comforting game, too, But Jason Flores, head coach of the Skyhawks (3-2, 0-2 RMAC) said the Grizzlies certainly are no cubs.
“If you look at their schedule, five of those games have come against really, really good teams – teams that will be regionally ranked,” Flores said. “It’s not like those losses have come with a bad schedule.”
The Skyhawks will look to shake off a slow start offensively this season. FLC has averaged 60.8 points per game and shot 39.6 percent from the field, including 22.1 percent from 3-point territory. Turnovers also have been costly, as the Skyhawks average 19.2 giveaways to only 12.7 assists per game.
In two road losses at UC-Colorado Springs and CSU-Pueblo last weekend, FLC shot 34.5 percent from the field in both games.
“We’ve bounced back. We had a bit of a hangover from the weekend to get over, and obviously we’ve had to regroup,” Flores said. “I don’t know if (Adams State) plays a style that is conducive to us shooting the ball great. We’re gonna have to be patient and take care of the ball, and that will lead to good shots.”
Adams State plays a zone defense that it extends into a pressure style, Flores said. The Grizzlies’ offense also starts from the perimeter in, though forward Mariah Gonzales leads the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game and rebounding at 4.2 a contest.
“I know she has scored, but their guards get a lot of good looks and put up a lot of perimeter shots,” Flores said. “They don’t pound it inside. Teams get extended trying to guard the perimeter shots, and that’s why I think she gets one-on-one touches inside and offensive boards.”
FLC also has been led by its post players, with Mary Brinton leading the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game. Kaile Magazzeni is second in scoring at 7.3 points per game, and she leads the team, averaging 5.8 rebounds.
After playing once at home all season, Flores said his team is relieved to be at home, where he said Whalen Gymnasium’s home-court advantage fuels his team.
“We feed off the home crowd, and hopefully we have a good one on Saturday,” he said. “It’s supposed to be a snowy afternoon, and it’s a great time for people to come out.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
