Fort Lewis only scored 18 points in the second half

Fort Lewis College’s Deniece Ryan plays Western New Mexico Friday at FLC. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

Jerry McBride

The Fort Lewis girls basketball team is struggling to score. Whether it’s open shots or contested shots, the ball doesn’t find enough nylon for FLC to enjoy sustained success. Luckily for the Skyhawks, they’re only two games in, so they have plenty of time to improve. FLC shot 32 percent from the field in its 67-48 home loss to Eastern New Mexico on Saturday night.

There were moments of offensive production for the Skyhawks when they scored in transition or through good movement and cutting of the ball. FLC took the lead in the second quarter and had 21 points in that quarter. But FLC scored a total of 18 points in the final two quarters and couldn’t stay in the game.

“It was the same song and dance as yesterday,” FLC head coach Lauren Zuniga said. “We found a way to come back in the second quarter and I’m very proud of that effort. We were scoring and playing defense and then we came out of halftime and…we talked about our response, how we were going to respond today with a third quarter and we didn’t have a good answer.

FLC fell to 1-1 overall after also shooting 24% from 3-point range and 78% from the free throw line.

Eastern New Mexico improved to 2-0 overall after shooting 47% from the field, 47% from 3-point range and 88% from the free throw line.

Junior guard Deniece Ryan led the Skyhawks with 10 points on 5-10 shooting from the field. Senior forward Darla Hernandez had nine points and six rebounds for FLC.

The Greyhounds were led by Kaitlyn Edmondson’s 18 points off the bench with 7-9 shooting from the field, 4-4 from the free throw line and eight rebounds.

Eastern New Mexico jumped out to an early 9-3 lead thanks to strong inside play. The Greyhounds looked to get plenty of post-touchdowns early on. The FLC deficit could have been bigger, but Eastern New Mexico missed a few setbacks inside.

FLC struggled to get into their offensive sets and turned the ball over several times in the first six minutes of the first quarter. A Greyhounds steal and finish made it 13-3 with 3:16 left in the first quarter. Zuniga called a timeout after the Skyhawks looked a little too passive when not turning it over.

The Skyhawks guards finally penetrated. Ryan and freshman guard Katie Lamb hit floaters in the lane late in the first quarter, but FLC still trailed 17-9 after one quarter.

FLC started the second quarter creating offense with their defense. Senior guard Livia Knapp scored a 3-pointer then had a steal. That led to a Ryan layup and a 19-14 deficit with 7:51 left in the second quarter.

Ryan did a great job of penetration and she finished with an off balance float. Two technical free throws from Gallery gave FLC its first lead 20-19 with 6:35 left in the first half. The Greyhounds head coach was furious after a missed carry call and continued to tell the refs about it.

“We want to see her do more,” Zuniga said of Ryan’s driving ability. “We know Denise will probably be the fastest goalie in the conference. I don’t know if Denise knows that. We talked about it in the locker room, each knowing their own competitive advantage, what they’re good at and trying to thrive within our offense.

FLC began running a better half-court offense midway through the second quarter. The players were cutting better and the cutters were getting hit. Junior forward Samantha Wattawa came in after not playing the day before. She was active defensively and scored a 3-pointer to give FLC a 28-24 lead with 2:38 left in the half.

Eastern New Mexico went into halftime with a 31-30 lead after a quick 5-0 run.

The Greyhounds had a few sloppy moments to start the third quarter, but crashed the glass well to maintain their lead. Eastern New Mexico’s Ishuana Hunter drove to the hole to take a 38-32 lead with 4:30 left in the third quarter. Zuniga called a timeout after Eastern New Mexico reached the hole again and led 44-35 with three minutes remaining.

The FLC offense struggled in the third quarter. The Skyhawks had no one to step in and carry the offense while sets weren’t working. FLC’s defense faltered as Eastern New Mexico had a high percentage of looks from the interior and perimeter. The Greyhounds led 55-39 after three quarters.

The Skyhawks’ offensive struggles continued in the fourth. FLC’s two starting guards, Knapp and Ryan, are small and have struggled to finish inside at times. Eastern New Mexico has done a good job of creating advantages through shifts, flaunting its bigs on Ryan or Knapp.

Eastern New Mexico continued to score and had its largest lead of 67-43 after a 3-pointer with 2:31 left.

“Defense is always going to be about effort,” Zuniga said. “Obviously there are some patterns and techniques, but if you want to play defense, you can be great at defense. Our state of mind may not be quite there yet.

FLC hits the road to face Colorado Mesa in Salt Lake City on Friday at 3 p.m.

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