Silver City, NM– The Mustangs hosted the final day of the Conference Challenge, Saturday evening against Fort Lewis College. After a huge win Friday evening, the team was able to transfer over the same energy and defeated the Skyhawks 65-47.
"We had a very solid weekend. The team has some adversity in the first game and we were abe to fight back and pull out the win," stated Coach Josh Pace.
Throughout the first quarter, the Skyhawks were attempting to run a quick offense where the ball is constantly being moved around. Mustang defense adjusted very quickly and put a stop to the Skyhawks offense. Senior Destiney Johnson (El Paso, TX/Parkland HS) had a monster block in the first quarter to help the Mustangs score off a fast break and develop a lead.
The second quarter was a great shooting performance by the Mustangs as the team averaged 42.89% from the field goal range as well as the same percentage behind the three-point line. Johnson was leading the team in scored points with 9 by the end of halftime.
Quarter three started with senior Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa HS) splashing a three-pointer to give the Mustangs the confidence they needed. She would end up being 2-2 behind the three-point line in the quarter. The Skyhawks fought back with an aggressive defense trying to put a stop to the Mustangs. Veteran Kyanne Kowatch (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa HS) drew a foul after a made three-pointer to give the Mustangs an extra four points after making her free throw.
Quarter four was filled with the Mustangs continuing to stretch their lead and at one point had 23 point lead with 2:39 left on the clock. In the final quarter, WNMU overpowered FLC in the paint shooting 35.3% in the field goal range compared to 16.7% from FLC. Mustangs swept the Conference Challenge starting their season 2-0 boding well for the program.
"Second game, offensively we showed what we are capable of on a night to night basis," said Pace. "Defense was not up to par but we had some good moments. Two wins at home to start the season…we will take it and get back to work on Monday." concluded Coach Pace.
Rebounding and defense was extremely strong for the Mustangs as the team had 44 rebounds compared to the Skyhawks having 30 total rebounds. Mustangs also ran the court in blocks totaling 6 for the night and none for the opposing team. The Skyhawks had attempted to play aggresive against the Mustangs but it only lead for WNMU to draw 21 fouls in comparison to 15 that they gave off.
The Mustangs has three girls in the double digits in shooting: Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa HS), Destiney Johnson (El Paso, TX/Parkland HS), and Kyanne Kowatch (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa HS) who all had 13 points on the evening making up 39 points out of the 65 team points (60%)
Mustangs Highlights:
Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa HS) - 13 points, 2 assists, and 1 steal
Destiney Johnson (El Paso, TX/Parkland HS) - 13 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 12 rebounds
Kyanne Kowtach - 13 points, 5 assists, 7 rebounds
Zyan Smith (Queen Creek, AZ/Mesquite High School ) - 5 points, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, and 5 rebounds
This game recap is presented by First American Bank. First American Bank is a proud supporter of WNMU Athletics!
