DURANGO, Colo.  Ivey Schmidt, Alyssa Eckroth and Penelope Urquhart each reached double digits to lead Western Colorado to a double-digit win over host Fort Lewis College, grounding the Skyhawks 78-61 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game at Whalen Gymnasium on Thursday night.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. Fort Lewis, 78-61
Records: Western 6-5 overall (4-1 RMAC), Fort Lewis 9-4 (2-3)
Location: Whalen Gymnasium, Durango, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Schmidt broke Western free from the only tie in the game, 9-9, with a 3-pointer that provided a cushion that would only grow as the game wore on.
• The Skyhawks would challenge late in the second quarter, pulling to with four, 28-24, after a 7-2 run, but Western answered back with a Chloe Daniels layup and another triple from Schmidt to more than double the lead.
• A 36-29 halftime lead grew to 45-35 early in the third, but Fort Lewis refused to allow the Mountaineers to build upon that advantage until the early moments of the fourth quarter.
• Up 55-47, Schmidt dropped in another 3-pointer, followed by an Urquhart trey to increase the gap to 14.
• Later in the quarter the Mountaineers continued to drive to the basket earning free throws, opportunities from the stripe that were taken advantage of in ballooning the lead almost to 20 points before the final buzzer.

JUST THE FACTS

• Schmidt lead all scorers with 25 points – including going 4-for-4 from behind the arc and hitting 11 of 12 from the free throw line – while Eckroth fell a basket short of her career high with 19 points on the night. Urquhart's 12-point night tied a season high.
• All three outscored the Skyhawks' scoring leader, Katie Lamb, who finished with 11 points.
• Schmidt came away with a game-high eight rebounds, with Daniels and Jayda Maves chipping in with seven apiece, helping the Mountaineers forge a commanding 49-29 advantage off the glass.
• Western's aggressiveness to the basket resulted in more than double the number of free throw attempts by the Skyhawks. The Mountaineers would finish hitting 28 of 38 free throws, while Fort Lewis went to the line just 18 times, and only hitting 9 of those free opportunities.

UP NEXT
Western continues its weekend road trip, heading next to Las Vegas, N.M., where on Saturday afternoon it will take on host New Mexico Highlands on a 1 p.m. RMAC contest.