Dec. 11, 2003
San Francisco – A cold, cold first half was too much for the Lobos to overcome in a 43-37 loss to the San Francisco Lady Dons. New Mexico, playing its first road game of the season, falls to 5-3. USF improves to 4-3, staying unbeaten at home.
The Lobos fell behind 20-4 with 7:33 left in the first half, missing 13 of their first 15 attempts from the floor. UNM clawed back somewhat, trimming the halftime margin to 24-14. New Mexico shot 21% (5-23) from the field in the first 20 minutes.
USF scored the first six points of the second half to match its biggest lead at 30-14. New Mexico was down 34-20 before going on a 13-0 burst to cut the deficit to 34-33. The Lady Dons went more than nine minutes without a point during that stretch. The Lobos’ leading scorer, Lindsey Arndt, sparked the run by scoring eight straight points. Arndt finished the night with a team-high 10 points, all in the second half.
The Lady Dons responded with a basket, then a 3-pointer by Carey Sauer to push the lead back to six at 39-33 and the Lobos never threatened again.
Somehow, UNM shot better than the Lady Dons, converting 29% (15-52) to USF’s 25% (13-53). However, New Mexico was just 1 of 14 from 3-point and 6 of 11 from the free-throw line. USF converted 14 of 18 shots from the line. The biggest disparity was in rebounding where the Lady Dons had a resounding 51-31 edge, 19-8 on the offensive end.
New Mexico came into the game averaging 70.1 points a game and shooting 40.6% from the floor. The 37 points are the fewest by UNM since a 52-37 loss to UTEP on March 1, 1995.
The Dons were led by Sauer’s 17 points. Mary Jane Krueger pulled down a game-high 21 rebounds.
The Lobos return home to face New Mexico State Sunday. Tipoff is 2 p.m.