DURANGO, Colo. Coming off strong second and third quarters by Western Colorado, they had a chance to win the game having several leads – last lead being with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter. But, their offense cooled off at the end allowing Fort Lewis College to walk away with a 64-57 lead.
 
JUST THE FACTS
Final Score: Fort Lewis def., Western Colorado 64-57
Records: Western Colorado 1-6, 0-2 RMAC, Fort Lewis 4-4, 1-1 RMAC.
Location: Whalen Gymnasium; Durango, Colo.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Fort Lewis took control of the game early on, taking a lead 3-2 lead with 7:29 left on the clock, and managed to grow their lead from there increasing it to six-points before the first quarter ended. Emmery Wagstaff and Rachel Cockman were the only Mountaineers to score in the first quarter, Wagstaff dropping five-points – off a three-pointer and two free throws- and Cockman scoring four-points off two layups. At the end of the first quarter Western trailed 9-15.
• In the second quarter, the Mountaineers looked like a completely different team as they erased the Skyhawks six-point lead and took a one-point lead of their own before halftime.
• 8:09 into the second quarter, down 14-18, Cockman started cooking Fort Lewis's defense starting an 8-3 run by herself, knocking down four straight layups, cutting the lead to 20-21 with 5:16 left to play. On the Skyhawks next possession they knocked down a three-pointer of their own. But, Kylie Krise responded with a three-pointer of her own - 2:23 mark - keeping Fort Lewis lead (24-23) at one-point.
• Near the end the second quarter, 1:31 on the clock to be exact, Wagstaff tied the game at 26-points a piece on a step back three-pointer. After a missed three-point attempt by the Skyhawks, Natalie Sumrok delivered a pass to Krise who knocked down her second three-pointer of the quarter giving Western a 29-26 lead with 38 seconds remaining.
• Before the quarter ended, Fort Lewis made a layup of their own putting the score at 29-28 at halftime.
• The Skyhawks took a brief 33-30 lead over the Mountaineers early in the third quarter. But, Krise tied the game with another three-pointer. The score would go back and forth – Fort Lewis taking the lead then Western tying it right away – for the next few minutes.
• However, the Mountaineers started to take control of the game on a Cockman made layup and converted free throw, giving Western a 41-37 lead. About a minute later Wagstaff knocked down a three-pointer, increasing their lead to 44-38.
• Up 50-42, the Skyhawks closed the third quarter out on an 8-0 run as the game was tied at 50-points each heading into the fourth quarter.
• Both teams struggled to score for about five minutes in the fourth quarter. Yet, Fort Lewis was able to score a few more points than Western, giving the Skyhawks a 55-52 lead over the Mountaineers with 5:10 left to go.
• With 4:10 on the clock, Cockman knocked down two free throws and around 30 seconds later, Wagstaff made a layup, giving Western a 56-55 lead – first lead in the quarter - with 3:32 remaining. That was the final time the Mountaineers had the lead, due to Fort Lewis closing the game out on a 9-1 run.

COURT NOTES

• Cockman was the leading scorer for the Western dropping 21-points (8-of-16) and had a team high six rebounds. Wagstaff was right behind her in points scoring 16-points (5-of-12) and five rebounds of her own.
• As a whole the Mountaineers shot, 45.5 percent (20-44) from the field, 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from three and 71.4 percent (10-of14) from the free throw line.
• While Western shot great over the course of the game, Fort Lewis was able to capitalize on second chance opportunities outscoring the Mountaineers 14-1 in the category. Additionally, Skyhawks had 13-points off turnovers to Western's six-points.

UP NEXT
The Mountaineers will return home for their next two games against Chadron State College (Dec. 9, 5:30 p.m.) and Colorado Christian University (Dec. 10, 5 p.m.).