Big Second Half Propels Lobos Past BYU, 64-51
Jan. 20, 2005
New Mexico came out roaring at both ends of the floor in the second half to ease past BYU 64-51 in a Mountain West Conference game at The Pit. The Lobos improve to 13-2 overall and 2-0 in league play. The Cougars fall to 10-6 and 1-2. Attendance was 9,583.
The UNM win sets up an early-season showdown with Utah Saturday afternoon in The Pit. The Utes ripped Air Force to move their record to 14-3 and 3-0 in the conference. Tipoff is 2 p.m.
Looking downright miserable early in the first half, New Mexico overcame an 11-point deficit to beat the Cougars for the fifth straight time.
Trailing 29-26 at the break , the Lobos took their first lead at 32-30 when junior Abbie Letz drilled a 3-pointer. UNM made 6 of 15 treys in the second half after going 2 of 9 in the first period.
Tied at 34-all, UNM embarked on a 15-4 run to boost its lead to 49-38 with just under seven minutes left in the contest. Sophomore guard Katie Montgomery nailed a pair of 3-pointers while senior guard Judy Vogt capped the game-clinching spurt with her first 3 of the night after four misses.
The lead grew to 53-39 on two free throws and a basket by senior Lindsey Arndt. After just two points and four rebounds in the first half, Arndt demonstrated her all-conference caliber play after halftime. She finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and eighth of her career.
New Mexico was up to the task at the defensive end in the second half as well. UNM held the Cougars to just two field goals in the first 11:39 after the break. BYU shot 30% (18-59) for the game, but just 23% (6-26) in the second half.
The first-half numbers were not pretty for Don Flanagan’s team as the Lobo head coach was visibly upset. The Lobos trailed 10-2 midway through the first half as it missed 11 of its first 12 shots and committed seven turnovers before getting a 3-pointer from Montgomery .
Down 19-8, the Lobos used a 12-3 run to trim the Cougars’ lead to 22-20 on a Mandi Moore jumper. Julie Sullivan hit consecutive baskets to push the BYU advantage back to seven, but Moore countered with back-to-back buckets to make it a 29-26 game at halftime.
Moore finished with 11 points and eight rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. Led by freshman Dionne Marsh’s 12 points, the Lobo reserves scored 31 points.
After 11 turnovers in the first half, the Lobos were guilty of just two after halftime.
Sullivan led the Cougars with 14 points. Kristen Kozlowski finished with 10 points, but was just 3 of 15 from the floor.