Lamb’s 16 points propelled Skyhawks to 72-53 win on Saturday

Katie Lamb of Fort Lewis College puts up a 3-point shot against Westminster University on Saturday at FLC. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

Jerry McBride

Fort Lewis College women’s basketball coach has been confident in her team’s shooting this week, and her confidence was rewarded in the Skyhawks’ 72-53 home victory over Westminster on Saturday.

The Skyhawks have struggled to shoot from 3-point range and from the free-throw line at times this season, including in the team’s loss to Western Colorado on Thursday. But Zuniga liked her team’s shot selection, and the shots finally fell against Westminster.

After going 6-9 from 3-point range in the first half, the Skyhawks shot 50% in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Griffins. On defense, FLC forced 22 turnovers and Westminster never looked comfortable when it could hang on to the ball in the half-court.

“It was a really great response overall,” Zuniga said. “That’s all we can ask for. It’s just better all-around, better offensively, better effort, better communication, just more disciplined.”

FLC improved to 10-4 overall and 3-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after it shot 41% from the field, 43% from 3-point range and 75% from the free-throw line.

Sophomore guard Katie Lamb led the Skyhawks with 16 points on 6-15 shooting from the field and 4-7 from 3-point range. Junior Makaya Porter had 14 points off the bench for the Skyhawks on 5-13 shooting from the field, 1-2 from 3-point range and 3-4 from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Claudia Palacio Gámez had a quality all-around game, finishing with five points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

Westminster dropped to 3-9 overall and 0-6 in the RMAC after it shot 32% from the field, 24% from 3-point range and 60% from the free-throw line. Ellie Mitchell and Madison Anderson each had 14 points to lead the Griffins.

FLC mixed it up offensively to take the lead in the first. Skyhawks freshman forward Alemanualii Fonoti got inside to finish or get to the free-throw line, and Lamb hit a nice transition 3-pointer to take a 12-7 lead with 1:30 left in the first.

Both teams could’ve scored more, but they couldn’t finish inside. Fonoti’s misses were especially tough with her size advantage and how close she was to the basket. Regardless, FLC ended the first quarter with good momentum thanks to a great step-back 3-pointer by Palacio Gámez to give FLC a 15-11 lead after the first quarter.

After allowing nearly 40 free throws the previous game against Western Colorado, FLC did a great job pressuring in the half-court without fouling, causing some poor late shot clock shots from the Griffins.

However, that work wasn’t shown in its lead early in the second quarter because the Skyhawks were unsuccessfully trying to force the ball into Fonoti. She had a clear size advantage, but the Griffins were bringing timely double teams and forcing turnovers.

The Skyhawks’ defense continued to be fantastic in the half-court, disrupting Westminster’s sets and forcing turnovers. Without Fonoti on the floor as someone to force the ball into, the Skyhawks got to the basket, got to the free-throw line and pushed the pace, creating looks in transition. The Skyhawks finally hit some 3-pointers, went on a 14-0 run and took a 34-20 lead into halftime.

Savanna Dotray, left, and Katie Lamb of Fort Lewis College fight for the ball while playing Westminster University on Saturday at FLC. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

Jerry McBride

Zuniga said she didn’t call one set play for a 3-pointer. FLC was getting its 3-pointers off drive and kickouts.

“We were not forcing so much,” Zuniga said. “We were just making our shots, and our offense maybe had a little bit more of a rhythm.”

FLC continued to play well to start the second half with strong half-court defense and impressive shot-making. Martinez made a contested driving layup with Lamb and senior guard Laisha Armendariz making 3-pointers. The Skyhawks led 43-24 with 3:45 left in the third quarter.

Westminster responded with a 9-2 run off some sloppy play from FLC, but FLC stayed composed and got to the free-throw line after crashing the offensive boards. The Skyhawks led 49-38 after three quarters.

The Griffins made a run to start the fourth quarter, cutting the FLC lead to 53-46 after some good ball movement and good shooting. FLC’s lack of a dominant offensive player showed in a moment like that, with no single player stepping up to stop the run, slow things down and take control.

“That’s a super great learning moment in a maturity moment for Claudia or Katie Lamb, but especially Claudia, just because she is our point guard and just knowing the trust is in her,” Zuniga said. “She needs to get the ball in her hand and slow it down; we want her to do that. She’s still learning, but she did a better job of that tonight.”

Lauren Zuniga, left, Fort Lewis College women’s head coach, and assistant coach Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw are all smiles with player Claudia Palacio Gámez after winning the game against Westminster University on Saturday at FLC. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

Jerry McBride

However, FLC’s defense stayed consistent as the offense ebbed and flowed, allowing Lamb to hit a 3-pointer and Davis to finish an old-fashioned 3-point play to seal the win with a 64-50 lead with 2:20 left.

FLC hits the road to play at South Dakota Mines on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

bkelly@durangoherald.com

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Three games into the SEC slate, and Tennessee basketball’s footing cannot find firm ground.

The Vols opened with a disappointing loss to Arkansas behind a horrid free-throw shooting game. After bouncing back with a home win over Texas, the Vols returned to the road for a loss where everything fell apart against Florida.

A 22-4 run across the middle six — starting with 3:33 to go in the first half and concluding at the 17:35 mark of the second half — put Florida in position to run away with the 91-67 win on its home court.

“I’ll take the blame for it, because I don’t know if I’ve had a team to play that bad and do the things and make the decisions they made from out of bounds, those type thing,” head coach Rick Barnes said. “It was just really poor basketball. And that’s on me.”

It came with 18 turnovers in the game, posting 12 in the first half. Tennessee fell one turnover shy of tying a season-high that came in the opener against Mercer.

That’s the Achilles heel to Tennessee’s problems. The Vols had a 26-all tie when the demise began. Boogie Fland drilled a stepback 3-point shot, then Bishop Boswell threw up a bad pass for a turnover. Rueben Chinyelu cashed in with a layup, and the Gators took a five-point lead that expanded to 13 by halftime.

“We’re not tough enough yet as a team when things aren’t going our way to know how to fight through it,” Barnes said.

During Florida’s 13-2 run after the Vols tied the game, Tennessee committed four turnovers, shot 0-for-4 from the field and had a shot blocked.

All made a recipe for disaster — that which ensued from the moment the Vols chose against ball security.

“You can’t win this game on hope,” Barnes said. “You can’t. And give them all the credit they after that, the last four minutes on, they controlled the game and did what they wanted to do. And you know what? They got relaxed, they started playing. And we didn’t guard, we didn’t put up the resistance. Just way too many defensive breakdown coverages.”

The collapse came in all phases. With the shots not falling and easy shots off free possessions, Florida went on to shoot 8-for-11 from the floor over the final 6:36 of the first half. It brought the Gators’ shooting percentage from the mid-20’s up to 41% by the break.

That flow continued into the second half, and the lack of toughness shone through. Florida finished the game shooting 48% despite beginning 6-for-23.

Jaylen Carey sunk a layup to give Tennessee a 21-19 lead with 6:43 left in the first half. Thomas Haugh answered with a dunk to tie the game — and then the Vols were out of it. The Gators shot 25-for-41 (61%) over the final 27 minutes of play that vaulted them to domination on their home court.

“At some point in time, you got to take a deep look within yourself as coaches, as players, and say, ‘OK, something’s got to change here,’” Barnes said.

CLEVELAND — According to the nonprofit Aspen Institute’s 2025 Project Play Report the amount of money an average U.S. family spends on their child’s primary sport has increased by 46% since 2019.

As executive director of America Scores in Cleveland, Alison Black is passionate about introducing kids to important skills through sport. 

“All of us have a very focused social, emotional learning development model,” said Black. “We think sport is the hook to that.”

Having kids involved in sports comes at a cost though, and parents are opening their wallets. According to the most recent Project Play survey, U.S. families spent an average of nearly $1,500 on just one child’s sports experiences last year.

Andy Pohl is the director of the Shaker Youth Baseball League and DNA Travel Baseball. He says he’s noticed parents paying even more for things like travel teams and private trainers in hopes of their children getting a college athletic scholarship.

“What we’ve evolved into is making youth sports and putting it really into an adult construct,” Pohl said. “You have this competition of families chasing all these different programs. Youth sports has become a multi-million-dollar industry, and it never was that way growing up.”

Jose Colon Nogueras has two kids who play soccer and says the costs can easily add up.

“It’s $500 for the whole season. On top of that, you’ve got to buy gear,” Nogueras said. “When you put everything together, it has an impact on the family or the parents that are paying for this.”

Nogueras says the money is worth it for what sports are teaching his children.

“It helps them deal with different problems,” he said. “It helps challenge them to become better. I think, [it] is essential for the growth and the development of a child.”

Black agrees with that sentiment. It’s why America Scores Cleveland is partnering with four other nonprofits throughout the city to form a coalition that provides free or low-cost sports-based development programs to young people.

“Sports is now pricing kids out,” said Black. “Making sure that kids have access into sport… is becoming a bigger issue, not just here in Cleveland, but it’s a huge national issue.”

Black hopes the new coalition that is just getting started can help ease the financial burden youth sports has on families in Northeast Ohio. 

“We’ve removed as many barriers as possible,” she said. “It really is teaching the community that sports is more than just this high competitive nature, and that we have to think about youth development first and foremost for sport.”