The CCU Women's Basketball team was defeated by Fort Lewis College 86-76 on Saturday afternoon at the CCU Event Center. Fort Lewis ranks 5^th in the conference standings as the Cougs claim 9^th.
 
FIRST QUARTER

• Four fouls in the first three minutes, and 10 at the end of the first quarter. The Cougars had six and Skyhawks 4
• Five minutes in, Fort Lewis had built a seven point lead at 14-7.
• However, from that point on, CCU began to chip away at the lead.
• The Cougs managed to diminish the lead to only three at the end of the first quarter, with the Skyhawks leading 22-19
• Christian had trouble controlling the glass as Mikala Gordon, the team's leading rebounder who is averaging7.6/RPG, got her second foul two and half minutes into the game. This forced her to the bench for the remainder of the quarter, therefore leading to a 10-4 rebounding advantage to Fort Lewis.

SECOND QUARTER

• The second quarter got off to a good pace with minimal turnovers and fouls. However the Cougs had another 6 fouls, and the Skyhawks only had two.
• The three point deficit remained consistent, with four minutes left in the first half CCU still trailed by three. At the end of the first half, the Skyhawks had the lead with a score of 42-38.
• At the half, the cougars had a three way tie for the team's leading scorer. Alex Nelson, Haley Shaner, and Claire Paxton each finished with ten points. Haley Shaner had an impressive percentage, going 4-5 from the floor, including 2-3 from the three point line. Alex Nelson also brought in a couple blocks to strengthen the Cougar defense.
• The Skyhawks #11 Briana Clah led with 11 points, going 3-4 from the three point line.

THIRD QUARTER

• In the first two minutes of the third quarter, the Skyhawks were quick in the paint and increased their lead by 9, with a score of 51-42.
• With three minutes left in the third, Claire Paxton made a three pointer to trim the Fort Lewis lead to 6. The cougars played clean defense and finished the quarter with 1 foul, while the Skyhawks had 7. The Cougs took advantage of the Skyhawks turnovers, and at the end of the third, CCU trailed by a score of 62-58.

FOURTH QUARTER

• The Skyhawks came out strong in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. They went on a 9-0 run to open the quarter, and pushed their lead into double digits. The first two points of the quarter were made by Leisha Crawford from the charity stripe, with five minutes left in the game. Mikala Gordon was able to make some key plays keeping the Cougars in the game, with 11 points and an assist before fouling out with three minutes left. Claire Paxton fouled out with a minute remaining, leaving the game with 15 points.  After a hard fight, the Cougars were unable to take the lead throughout the game and finished with a loss. The final score was 86-76.

NOTABLE STATS

• Impressive leaders from the game were Skyhawks player Briana Clah and cougars Haley Shaner. Briana Clah and Haley Shaner both finished with 23 points, going 5-7 from the three point line. Shaner flirted with a double-double, but came up just short as she had eight rebounds
• Alex Nelson finished the game with 15 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and rejected two shots.
• Leisha Crawford and Mikala Gordon both finished the game with 11 points and one steal.

 
Their next game action will happen on Friday Feb. 3^rd when they travel to Chadron, NE to take on Chadron State. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30PM MST.