DURANGO, Colo. -- Rae Falatea had a team-high 18 points and Lyndzi Rich fell one rebound shy of a double-double off of the bench with 12 points and nine boards as Westminster women's basketball (16-8, 15-5 RMAC) to beat Fort Lewis (2-24, 1-19 RMAC), 68-40, on Thursday night at Whalen Gymnasium.

Westminster's stifling defense forced season-lows in field goals made (14) and opponent shooting percentage (.230) as Fort Lewis was held to just 14-of-61 shooting as a team.  The Griffins owned a 46-35 rebounding advantage and led by double digits through the entire second half.  Ashley Greenwood (12 pts) and Sarah McGinley (15 pts) each reached double figures on the night in scoring while Hunter Krebs added seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal.

The Sky Hawks were able to create an early advantage on the scoreboard and led the entire first quarter after holding Westminster to just 5-of-15 shooting and 12 points as a team in the opening quarter.  Lyndzi Rich scored the final two field goals of the first which sparked a 15-0 Westminster run in which the Griffins went 6-of-9 as a team to take a 23-16 lead midway through the second.

Westminster held the Sky Hawks to just 2-of-17 (11 percent) shooting from the field which included 0-of-8 from deep in the second quarter to carry a 15-point lead into the locker room, closing the first half on a 14-2 Westminster run.

The Griffins continued its dominance on the defensive end in the second half as Fort Lewis made just 6-of-28 field goals as a team and just 2-of-9 three's in a second half in which Westminster led by as many as 33.

Westminster will make its final push at locking up a home playoff spot as it closes out the 2021-22 RMAC regular season at Western Colorado on Saturday night, tipping-off at 5:30 p.m.

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