Durango, CO -- Western New Mexico's women's basketball team was hoping to end 2005 with a victory, but came away with another defeat Wednesday night as they fell to host Fort Lewis 74-55 in Durango.

WNMU hung tough in the first half, only trailing the Skyhawks 39-35, but were outscored 35-20 in the second stanza to drop to 0-7. Fort Lewis improved to 4-7.

The Mustangs were outrebounded by five boards, but suffered a stiffling 31 turnovers.

Crystal Smith led the way for WNMU with 12 points, while Nicole Ruegsegger and Sarah Bennetts added 11 points each. Tannesia Mansley also broke into double figures with 10 points on the night.

The team returns to action January 4 when Heartland Conference play begins at MSU-Billings.