Box Score The NMHU Women's Basketball team lost on the road, in Durango, Colo., to the NCAA DII seventh ranked Skyhawks of Fort Lewis College, by the final score of 96-56. The Skyhawks took control of their home court advantage from the very start and would never look back. The Cowgirls were down 20-0, with 12:51 left in the first half, when they finally got on the scoreboard. The Cowgirls tried to mount a comeback but it just wasn't to be and when the buzzer sounded to end the first half of play Fort Lewis took a 34 point lead into the locker room, 55-21. The Cowgirls started out the second half on a good note by scoring the first four points of the half. With 15 minutes left in the game the Cowgirls had managed to close the gap down to 24 points, but the Skyhawks were determined to close the game out. The Cowgirls kept fighting throughout the second half, but when the final buzzer sounded it was Fort Lewis that would come away victorious on their home court, 96-56. With the road loss the Cowgirls, led by Head Coach Tiffany Darling, fall to a 7-10 record in the RMAC and 11-10 in overall play.
Once again “Miss Consistent,”
Alyssa Lopez, was the leading scorer for the Cowgirls. She scored 15 points for the Cowgirls in her team leading 37 minutes on the court. Lopez added five steals, three rebounds, and shot 7-9 from the free-throw line in the game. She was hounded by the Skyhawks' defense in the game, which contributed to her turning the ball over 11 times.
China Smith had a solid game for the Cowgirls, scoring 13 points. She was a perfect 7-7 from the free-throw line and added a team high six rebounds in her 18 minutes of playing time. Unfortunately foul trouble took Smith out of the game for the Cowgirls.
Katie Gannon rounded out the top scorers for the Cowgirls with eight points in 12 minutes on the court. Gannon hit two three-point shots and went 2-3 from the charity stripe for the Cowgirls.
The Cowgirls have been shooting well from the free-throw line recently and tonight's game was no exception as they combined for an 80.8% free-throw percentage as a team. The Cowgirls' night was marred by turnovers against Fort Lewis as they gave the ball up 33 times. The Skyhawks grabbed 22 steals in the game and managed to score 26 first-half points off of the Cowgirls' mistakes. The Skyhawks benefited from an entire team effort that saw five of their players score in double figures, with three more Skyhawks' players coming within a point or two of that same mark.
The Cowgirls were able to help their chances of seeing post-season playoff action by splitting their road trip this weekend. Although they lost tonight's game against the Skyhawks, they grabbed a 10 point road victory last night against Adams State College.
The Cowgirls will continue conference action again, on 2/10, as they travel to Grand Junction, Colo., to take on their conference rival the Mavericks of Colorado Mesa University. The Mavericks are currently tied with the Cowgirls for eighth place in the RMAC, with a 7-10 conference record and 9-12 in overall play. The last time the teams met, the Mavericks were able to grab a three point overtime victory, in Las Vegas, N.M., in an exciting 75-72 game. The game is scheduled for a 5:30 pm tip-off time, with the Cowboys taking to the court shortly after the completion of the women's game. If you can't make it to Grand Junction to watch your Cowgirls in action, you can click
HERE to watch the game LIVE on the America One network.
GO COWGIRLS!!!
