New Mexico Captures MWC Championship Over Utah, 47-37
March 12, 2005
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By JOHN MARSHALL
AP Sports Writer
DENVER – Dionne Marsh scored 14 of her 22 points in the first half andNew Mexico overcame poor shooting with a smothering defense to beat Utah 47-37Saturday for its third straight Mountain West Conference tournament.
New Mexico (26-4) shot just 31 percent and allowed Utah to get within 35-31before pulling away in the final 5 minutes as the pro-Lobos crowd chanted”Three-peat! Three-peat!
The Lobos, the tournament’s top seed after tying Utah for the regular-seasontitle, have won six straight games overall, which they hope will be enough toearn a high seed when the NCAA tournament announces its brackets on Sunday.
Head Coach Don Flanagan cuts down the net after the Lobos’ victory. |
New Mexico did it by frustrating rival Utah yet again. The Lobos have beatenthe Utes five straight times, including a 71-50 victory in last year’s titlegame.
Utah (25-7) had a miserable start against New Mexico’s swarming defense,missing nine of its first 10 shots, and didn’t get a whole better. The Utesshot just 22 percent and were 4-of-24 from 3-point range in their first trip tothe finals since winning the tournament in 2000.
But it wasn’t just the Lobos’ pressure. The Utes were way off on numerousopen jumpers and shot just 7-of-13 from the free throw line.
Not even Kim Smith and Shona Thorburn, co-MVPs during the regular season,could find their strokes.
Smith, who averaged 17.9 points during the season, missed 10 of her first 11shots and finished 3-for-17 – 2-of-11 on 3-pointers – for 10 points. Thorburn,a 15.3-point scorer, was 3-for-14 and missed all four of her free throwattempts to finish with six points.
Mandi Moore led the defense from the top, hounding Utah’s shooters intoforced shots at the shot clock buzzer. She also stayed steady at the point whenUtah started scrambling at the end, with just three turnovers to go with sixassists, and charged in for 13 rebounds.
Marsh was solid at both ends to earn the tournament’s MVP. The freshman fromFlower Mound, Texas, hit 7 of 15 shots, grabbed 10 rebounds and teamed withLindsey Arndt to take away Utah’s inside game.