Lobos Roll Past San Diego State, 81-52, in First Round of Mountain West Conference Tournament
March 9, 2005
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DENVER – New Mexico, the two-time defending Mountain West Conference Tournament champions, opened its quest for a third straight title with a 81-52 thrashing over San Diego State in the first round of the 2005 MWC Tournament Wednesday afternoon at the Pepsi Center. The 29-point triumph is the largest margin of victory for the Lobos in their conference tournament history. UNM (24-4) returns to action Friday afternoon at 12 p.m. to face fifth-seeded UNLV, who defeated Wyoming in the first round, 62-59.
UNM shot a season-best 58 percent (31-for-53) from the floor while limiting the Aztecs to 36 percent (17-for-47). The Lobos controlled the glass, outrebounding SDSU, 40-17, which is the fewest amount of rebounds for any UNM opponent this season.
Five players scored in double-digits for UNM, led by MWC Newcomer of the Year Dionne Marsh, who poured in 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Abbie Letz scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, Lindsey Arndt had 10 points and three assists and Katie Montgomery scored 10 points with seven rebounds.
Mandi Moore had a solid all-around game, scoring nine points to go along with six assists, three steals and a career-high tying 11 rebounds.
The Lobos outscored the Aztecs (8-20) in bench production, 25-4, keyed by 11 points from Jenny Shetters and seven from Judy Vogt.
The Lobos started the game strong, building a 13-3 lead within the first four minutes, capped by a Montgomery 3-pointer at the 16:00 mark. SDSU then scored six straight points, but the Lobos followed with a 7-0 run to go up 20-9. The Aztecs battled back and cut the lead to five at 24-19 with 6:45 left in the half. New Mexico closed the half on a 19-7 run to take a 43-26 lead going into the break.
San Diego State came out firing to start the second half, opening with a 10-2 run in the first four minutes to trim the Lobo margin to nine points at 45-36. It was as close as the Aztecs would get.
New Mexico dominated the rest of the game, outscoring the Aztecs 36-16 the remainder of the half. For one stretch, the Lobo defense held San Diego State without a field goal from the 11:51 mark to 3:16.