Lobos Take Care of Air Force, 77-69
Feb. 10, 2005
USAFA, Colo. – Freshman Dionne Marsh scored a career-high 28 points – the best this season for any Lobo player – as the New Mexico women’s basketball team defeated Air Force, 77-69, Thursday night at Clune Arena. The Lobos improve to 18-3 (7-1 Mountain West) for the season, while the Falcons fall to 7-14 (2-6 MWC).
The Lobos shot 54.3 percent for the game (25-for-46), the best they’ve shot in a conference game this season. Air Force shot a respectable 41.8 percent from the field, but only netted two 3’s compared to UNM’s five.
Sophomore Katie Montgomery, starting in place of senior point guard Mandi Moore, scored a season-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including three 3-pointers. Montgomery and Marsh were the only Lobos in double figures; Abbie Letz, Lindsey Arndt and Julie Briody each poured in six for UNM.
Air Force led early on, 10-9, with 16:09 remaining in the first half. The Lobos then went on an 11-0 run to open up a 20-10 lead. The Academy cut the lead to four at 24-20, but UNM ended the half on a 19-6 run to go into the break with a 43-26 advantage.
Marsh scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first half. For the game, she finished 8-of-12 from the floor.
The 17-point lead would be the largest of the game for UNM, although the Lobos did maintain a double-digit lead until Air Force trimmed the margin to eight at 60-52 with 7:06 left in the game. New Mexico went back up 70-58 at the 3:26 mark, but the Falcons didn’t die and once again came back, cutting the lead to five (74-69) with just 29 seconds remaining. UNM iced the game with free throws, as Montgomery hit two and Marsh hit one in the closing seconds to give the Lobos the 77-69 victory.
New Mexico returns to action Sunday, Feb. 13 to face Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. The game, which begins at 3 p.m., is being televised nationally by ESPN 2.