After the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team had its best season in eight years, the Skyhawks are looking to raise money to make the next season even better.
The Skyhawks are hosting the 3 on 3 Skyhawks Showdown on April 11 inside Whalen Gymnasium. Each team has a three-game guarantee. Teams of four can compete in the elementary, middle school, high school and co-ed college/adult categories after a $100 registration fee that will go to the FLC women’s basketball program.
“We thought it would be something really fun for the community,” FLC women’s basketball head coach Lauren Zuniga said. “I feel like there’s not a ton of three-on-three tournaments, so I thought it could be something to hopefully grow and do every year. The ultimate goal, obviously, is to support Fort Lewis women’s basketball, but also just to kind of make it a fun community event.”
After the three games, a championship game will take place in each division. Prizes, such as FLC women’s basketball gear, gift cards to businesses in Durango, and FLC Athletics gear, will be given out.
Games will start at 8 a.m. People can register here.
It’s an exciting time for the Skyhawks women’s basketball program. Zuniga said she expects the entire roster with eligibility remaining to return. This is almost unheard of in modern college athletics with the transfer portal and immediate eligibility coming out of the transfer portal. FLC is expected to return 93% of its scoring from the 2025-2026 season.
“It’s everything that any coach could hope for,” Zuniga said. “With the landscape where college basketball is at right now, there are so many opportunities for kids. Sometimes it’s easy for them to think grass is greener … So I feel super impressed by the maturity of our team. I’m super impressed with just how bought in they are.”
The Skyhawks could have a team good enough to host an RMAC tournament game in Zuniga’s third year and win a conference tournament game for the first time since 2016.
Katie Lamb, the team’s best shooter and scorer, will be a junior after averaging 11.8 PPG. So will her backcourt mate, Claudia Palacio Gámez, who had a lot of strong moments in her first year as the team’s point guard. Natalie Guanella will be a senior after a stellar finish to her junior campaign, where she finished the season with five consecutive double-digit scoring games. Makaya Porter will be a senior after tying for top scorer, 11.8 PPG, and leading the team in blocks and finishing second in steals.
Young players can also return after promising freshmen seasons. Josie Davis immediately impacted the game from the guard spot with her efficiency and all-around play. Alemaualii Fonoti provided a great presence inside with her strength and motor. Savanna Dotray provided great versatility with her length at the forward position.
However, there’s still plenty of room to improve, and Zuniga plans on addressing that in the transfer portal and high school. She already has three high school players committed, and is looking to add one or two post players in the transfer portal. Zuniga also has to find an assistant coach after Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw left the team during the season.
“When we talk recruiting, we want to just continue to get great players, which I think we have, … our style of play won’t change,” Zuniga said. “We still need to have length, athleticism and skill.”
Zuniga wants to see her returners continue to mature. She wants to see her team improve in forced turnovers, already a strength this past season, and she wants her team to cut down the turnovers to under 14 per game.