SILVER CITY, N.M. – In a game that had a playoff feel from the opening tip was just that throughout. Fort Lewis College was able to take control early and despite a couple of rallies by the Western New Mexico University women's basketball team, the Lady Skyhawks took the 70-55 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory Friday night in front of a good-sized crowd on Purple Out night.

FLC (11-8, 8-7 RMAC) controlled play during the opening 20 minutes, hitting the opening basket and controlling the lead the rest of the half. WNMU (11-9, 8-8 RMAC) came back to knot the game at two on a layup by Nalani Hernandez (Tucson, AZ/Tucson High School) and then again at six-all on a layup by Stephanie Moore (Anton, TX/Anton High School). Moore had a big half for the Lady Mustangs going for a team-high 10 points, making 4-of-5 from the field.

The Lady Skyhawks had the lead as high as 14 at 23-9 with 8:34 to play in the first half, but WNMU would work the deficit back to eight a couple of times including on a jumper by Hernandez before FLC took a 37-27 lead into the locker room.

It was a physical first half with 21 fouls combined, as FLC went 11-of-13 from the charity stripe and WNMU 8-of-10. FLC also held the edge on made field goals (12-9) and both teams struggled from long range with the Lady Skyhawks making 2-of-10 and a 1-of-9 clip for the Lady Mustangs. Kate Bayes had a big half off the bench scoring 17 points for FLC to lead the way.

The Lady Skyhawks continued with the momentum to start the second half going on a 6-0 run. After trailing by as many as 19 midway through the half, the Lady Mustangs worked their way back to within 12 on a layup by Moore in transition.

But with just four minutes to play, FLC was able to hold off a potential late WNMU run to secure the wire-to-wire win.

Moore finished with 19 points to lead the Lady Mustangs. Hernandez added nine and RaTanya Newsome (Tucson, AZ/Tucson High School) with eight points, six assists and five steals. Bayes came off the bench to lead FLC with 25 points.

FLC made 24-of-52 (46.2), while WNMU hit 19-of-58 (32.8). WNMU made two more three-pointers (4-2), while FLC held a 20-13 edge at the charity stripe.

WNMU will turn around and host Adams State University Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. New Mexico Highlands claimed a 67-60 win earlier tonight over the Lady Grizzlies.