PUEBLO, Colo. (GoThunderWolves.com - Dec. 1, 2012) - Led by dominant efforts down low from Laurel Kearsley (Sr., Victor, Idaho) and Katie Nehf (So., Broomfield, Colo.), CSU-Pueblo claimed its first regular season win over Fort Lewis since 2007.
Nehf and Kearsley each turned in double-doubles, marking the first time since 2008 that two ThunderWolves went for double-doubles in the same game, as CSU-Pueblo shrugged off a sluggish start to tee off on the struggling Skyhawks.
Fort Lewis, eager to continue its five-game road winning streak over the Pack, began on fire, sinking three three-pointers and going on an early 10-0 run to go up 15-4 on the ThunderWolves.
After CSU-Pueblo spotted the Skyhawks the headstart, the ThunderWolves relied on its post players - in unconventional ways - to get back into the game.
The Pack went on an 11-0 run to tie the game at 15, led in large part by Kearsley and Nehf, who went inside-out to each drain three-pointers during the run that got the Pack into the game.
From there, CSU-Pueblo engaged Fort Lewis in a back-and-forth game, not seizing its first lead until the final point of the first half, carrying a 31-30 advantage into half.
Making key halftime adjustments, CSU-Pueblo took complete control of the game in the second half, starting things out with a 14-2 run to go up 47-33, and suddenly, the Skyhawks were out of reach for a victory. Fort Lewis never got any closer as the ThunderWolves cruised to victory.
The win exorcises recent demons against Fort Lewis, long considered the class program of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. CSU-Pueblo, despite defeating Fort Lewis en route to RMAC Tournament titles in 2008, 2009 and 2010, hadn't beaten the Skyhawks since it rose to the level of a nationally-competitive program in 2008. Entering the weekend, both CSU-Pueblo and Fort Lewis were listed as "receiving votes" in the USA Today/Women's Basketball Coaches' Association Top 25 poll.
CSU-Pueblo will face another key measuring stick next weekend when it faces Regis and Metro State, the latter of which is also receiving votes in the poll, at Massari Arena.
