No. 5 Fort Lewis 71,
CSU-Pueblo 66
PUEBLO, Colo. - CSU-Pueblo has been one of the
only teams in the conference to make a habit out of beating Fort
Lewis, currently ranked fifth in the country, the past three
seasons. Saturday, facing one of the highest-ranked teams a
Pack team had ever faced in program history, CSU-Pueblo nearly
added another "W" to their Fort Lewis docket.
The ThunderWolves were tied with Fort Lewis as late as 2:45 left
in the game in an neck-and-neck affair, eventually edged out by the
17-1 Skyhawks by a 71-66 score.
The ThunderWolves, who had suffered from shooting woes as of
late, found the stroke they'd been lacking the past several
weeks. Led by Mary Rehfeld (Sr., Juneau,
Alaska), who had been held to less than five points in
four of the past six games, caught fire, whipping out a season-high
25-point on 10-for-18 shooting, and going 5-for-9 from beyond the
arc.
Rehfeld sank three three-pointers in the first half, allowing
the ThunderWolves to take a lead of as large as six midway through
the first frame.
Despite a stellar performance all-around in the first half, Fort
Lewis seized on the smallest errors to remain in control at
halftime, holding a 36-28 advantage of the break, due largely to
seven steals and a halftime rebounding advantage of 22-16.
But the Pack kept things close by not letting up in the second
half. Trailing by nine four minutes into the second half, the
Pack seized on Fort Lewis bricks to go on a 12-1 run, taking a
44-42 lead with 12:30 remaining in the game, thanks to additional
threes by Rehfeld and two treys by Kristi Arness (Jr.,
Chico, Calif.).
From there it was a chess match, as neither team could build a
lead larger than four. But eventually, the ThunderWolves'
success from behind the arc, going 10-for-23 during the game, dried
up, as the Skyhawks scored big rebounds, allowing them to keep the
Pack at arm's length. The Pack was 0-for-4 from the field
inside of the final two minutes, and 3-for-6 from the free throw
line.
The ThunderWolves fall to 12-7 with the loss, and 6-5 in
conference play. Fort Lewis remains a perfect 11-0 in RMAC
play.
The Pack will embark on another four-game road trip, first with
a Tuesday matchup at New Mexico Highlands before taking on Western
New Mexico on Saturday, Feb. 7.
