Lobos Cage Tigers
Nov. 26, 2004
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Sophomore Katie Montgomery and junior Jana Francis came off the bench to spark New Mexico to a 67-48 victory over Missouri in the opening game of the Airport University Inn Thanksgiving Tournament at The Pit. The Lobos improve to 3-0 and will face Gonzaga (2-0) in the championship game Saturday night at 8 p.m. The Bulldogs dismantled Providence 85-38 in the earlier game. Missouri is now 1-2.
Despite not starting any of the first three games, Montgomery is the Lobos’ leading scorer. She finished with a game-high 16 points on 4-7 shooting from 3-point. Montgomery added 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Francis tallied 10 points, one short of her career high. She scored eight points during a 26-5 second-half run to put the Tigers away. All told, the Lobo reserves contributed 46 points on 18 of 37 shooting from the floor. Freshman Dionne Marsh added eight points.
Trailing 32-26 at the break, the Tigers scored the first basket of the second half to trim the deficit to four. New Mexico then countered with a 26-5 burst to end any doubt about the outcome.
The Lobos got off to a sluggish start, missing six of their first seven shots as Mizzou took a 10-4 lead. Fueled by a relentless trapping defense, UNM responded by making five straight shots during a 12-0 spurt to grab a 16-10 advantage. Senior Mandi Moore capped the run be feeding three different teammates for baskets. Moore had an outstanding floor game with 5 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and just 1 turnover.
The Tigers managed to tie the score at 20-all, but Judy Vogt nailed a trey that provided the Lobos a lead they would never surrender. After making just 26% (9-35) of their 3-point attempts in the first two games, New Mexico connected on 8 of 16 against the Tigers.
The Lobos caused 19 turnovers while committing just 13, only four of which came in the second half.
Christel N’Garsanet paced the Tigers with 12 points while LaToya Bond added 10. Mizzou was held to 33% (18-54) from the floor.