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Skyhawks find their wings

FLC women were ‘flying around’ in second half

All the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team wanted for Christmas was a few shots to fall.

Santa Claus delivered.

Playing in the final game of 2014 before an extended holiday break, the FLC Skyhawks’ shooting woes continued through a grueling opening 17 minutes against Western State College. FLC had made only two shots and had a dismal 9.5 percentage from the field, but a traditional three-point play from junior forward Mary Brinton and a big 3-point bucket from senior guard Erin Curry pumped some life into the Skyhawks, helping them cut the Mountaineers’ lead to 33-23 at halftime.

The Skyhawks then switched to a pressure defense to open the second half, and that helped force turnovers that led to easy baskets in transition. After shooting only 16.7 percent in the first half, FLC turned it around with a 57.1 percent effort in the second to half to come from behind and secure a 74-67 victory.

“We were very sluggish in the first half. Credit to the players, they turned it around,” FLC head coach Jason Flores said. “They played hard, did the right things and it just led to easy baskets. It led to frustrating them and got us going, got the crowd going, got our own team going. It became fun. The game became fun, and we were flying around.”

FLC junior guard Kate Bayes, a transfer from Nebraska-Omaha, brought much-needed intensity to the floor for FLC (5-4, 2-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference). She finished with a team-high in points and rebounds with 20 and seven, respectively.

“One of my strengths as a player is driving and attacking the basket,” Bayes said. “I love to get out in transition and run, and that’s what our team turned into in the second half. So, I don’t think it was so much me; it was just the way that our team started playing. I fell in perfectly to that.”

Curry drained another 3 early in the second half, and junior guard Kylie Santos bounced back from three fouls in the first half to knock down a pair of big 3s to help FLC get within reach. A Bayes 3 gave FLC its first lead at 42-41 with 14:30 to play.

Western State (3-7, 2-4 RMAC) responded with buckets from Jade McIntosh, who finished with a game-high 28 points. But FLC went back up thanks to Santos free throws and more strong drives to the basket from Bayes. Santos finished with 12 points, and she also credited the increased defensive activity to helping the offense.

“We had nothing going at the beginning. We were just sluggish, and having defense on our side really picked us up and made it exciting. Exciting and fun,” Santos said.

In all, FLC generated 27 points directly off 21 Mountaineer turnovers. FLC also limited its turnovers to 13 while totaling 15 team assists.

Bayes attributed the increased defensive intensity to a timeout called by Flores when he told the players they were playing scared and slow.

“We were kind of playing timid on defense, too. Knowing we could go for steals, go for traps really picked us up,” she said.

Western State finished shooting 37.7 percent from the field and made 22-of-24 free throws.

FLC won’t play again until 5:30 p.m. Jan. 2 at Chadron State in Nebraska. The win Sunday will send the team into the holiday break in the middle of the RMAC pack with the heart of the season still ahead.

“It’s what we needed. We are going to be in this thing,” Flores said. “We’re gonna be someone to be reckoned with down the stretch here. I’m happy for (the team). They get to go home with a good taste in their mouth, have break, refresh and be ready to get after it in the second half.”

jlivingston@durangoherald.com



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