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Skyhawk women's basketball team loses in first round of NCAA playoffs
Published: Friday, March 14, 2008 by Office of Alumni Relations
Author: Andrew Beardsley, Sports Information Director, and Chris Aaland, Director of Alumni Relations
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VERMILLION, S.D. — The Fort Lewis College women's basketball team fell 66-58 to the University of Nebraska-Kearney in the first round of the NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament tonight in Vermillion, S.D.
The Skyhawks (26-4) ended their season as the No. 11 ranked team in Division II and won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with an 18-1 record — the best in league history. FLC's .867 winning percentage is the best ever for a women's basketball team in school history.
In a very defensive game, the Skyhawks and Lopers played a back-and-forth first half that saw six lead changes. Kearney scored on a layup with 6:04 remaining in the first half to take a 37-34 lead. Neither team managed to score in the final six minutes of the half, combining for nine turnovers and 19 missed shots during that stretch.
The two teams exchanged baskets and the lead for the first nine minutes of the second half before UNK opened a five-point lead with 10:55 remaining. The Lopers improved their lead to as many as 11 points at the 6:59 mark before the Skyhawks went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to four (52-48) with 5:05 remaining. FLC trimmed the lead to three when Laura Haugen (Fort Collins, CO) made a three-pointer with 1:12 left in regulation. UNK made all six of its free throw attempts down the stretch to secure the win and avenge their RMAC regular season loss to FLC.
Haugen finsihed with a team-high 16 points while Katie Mackey (Eaton, CO) notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. UNK held FLC's leading scorer and the nation's field goal shooting leader, Allison Rosel (Colorado Springs), to just six points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field.
The Skyhawks shot just 31.7% in the game and 36.0% from beyond the three-point arc. The Lopers connected on 44.9% of their shots. Neither team handled the ball very well, with UNK commiting 25 turnovers and FLC 23.
The Skyhawks return nearly their entire squad for 2008-09, losing just one senior — Lauren Redfern (Carbondale, CO) — to graduation.
The 2007-08 athletic season saw five Skyhawk teams qualify for the NCAA playoffs — the most in school history. Men's soccer, women's soccer and volleyball all lost in their first round NCAA playoff games last fall; Men's basketball, ranked No. 12 in the nation, faces Nebraska-Omaha in first-round playoff action tomorrow night in Winona, Minn.
Author Andrew Beardsley is the Sports Information Director at Fort Lewis College. He can be reached at 970-247-7441 or beardsley_a@fortlewis.edu. Author Chris Aaland is the Director of Alumni Relations at Fort Lewis College and accompanied the Skyhawk women's basketball team to the NCAA playoffs. He can be reached at 970-247-7427 or aaland_c@fortlewis.edu.
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