Box Score
PROVO, Utah — The Fort Lewis College women's basketball team got a taste of the big time tonight as NCAA Division I Brigham Young University manhandled the Skyhawks 85-58 at the Marriott Center.
Big as in giant. Led by 6-foot-7 center Jennifer Hamson's 16 points, the Cougars used their superior size and muscle to build a 44-22 halftime lead.
“We kind of ran into a buzz saw early in the game,” said sixth-year FLC head coach Mark Kellogg. “They got up real big on us early and we were just shell-shocked. They kind of manhandled us physically early until we finally settled in.”
The Cougars, who posted a 23-10 record a year ago, outrebounded the Skyhawks by a 52-23 clip. In fact, BYU had more offensive boards (24) than FLC had total rebounds.
“They just got too many second chance points,” said Kellogg, whose own troops set school and conference records last year in a 35-4 season that saw them lose in the NCAA Division II national title game.
One shining star for the Skyhawks was 5-foot-9 freshman guard Erika Richards, who came off the bench to score 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 marksmanship from behind the arc. Richards also hit the double-digit mark with 14 points in last night in an 82-71 win at Utah Valley. In two exhibition games against Division I opponents, the Mesa, Ariz., product has 37 points to lead all Skyhawks.
“She played really well and got it going offensively,” said Kellogg.
6-foot junior center Jenna Santistevan was the only other Skyhawk to score in double figures against BYU with 10 points.
“A lesson learned,” is how Kellogg summed up the defeat. “We got some young kids some quality minutes and we got better as the game went on. Hopefully we get better from this loss. I know we won't play a team bigger and more physical than them the rest of the year.”
The Skyhawks, ranked No. 12 in yesterday's USA TODAY ESPN Division II women's basketball poll, conclude their three-game exhibition slate against Division I competition when they travel to Arizona State on Sunday for a 2 p.m. showdown with the Sun Devils.
Fort Lewis opens its regular season at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 13 against Eastern New Mexico in Whalen Gymnasium.
