New Mexico Lobos Women’s Basketball – On The Mountain West Road
Saturday: Boise State 86, New Mexico 65
Up Next: Wednesday (Jan. 21) – UNLV at New Mexico – WisePies Arena
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The line of Mountain West payback the New Mexico Lobos need to dish out in WisePies Arena has been extended by one team.
The New Mexico Lobos lost 86-65 Saturday afternoon at Boise State, but really this is more an opportunity lost than it is a major setback.
The trio of bullies on the block – until someone proves differently — are Boise State, Fresno State and Colorado State and all three Lobo losses came in those gym.
The Broncos, the Bulldogs and the Rams still have to come to The Pit. CSU and Fresno State also won on Saturday.
“We can’t go out and just try to outscore people,” said Sanchez. “We also have to play defense.”
UNM dropped to 7-10 and even in the Mountain at 3-3. The win advanced Boise State record to 12-4 and 4-1 in the Mountain West. There is some separation at the top of the MW standings, but there is still a lot of basketball to play and the Lobos still have some advantages coming in The Pit.
The Lobos had no advantages in the second half at Boise. UNM was outscored 52-27 in the second half as the Lobos four-point halftime lead turned into a 21-point road loss.
Boise State shot 50 percent (17-of-34) in the second half and 48.3 percent for the game. UNM shot 48.4 percent in the first half in taking the lead at the half. UNM shot 36.4 percent in the second half. The Lobos went 0-of-9 from 3-point range and the Broncos sizzled going 10-of-20 (50 percent) from long range.
The Lobos also were damaged on the boards where the Broncos outrebounded UNM 37-to-28. Both teams had 18 turnovers. Boise State had 17 assists to six for the Lobos.
The Lobos were led by Antiesha Brown with 17 points, Cherise Beynon with 11 and Alexa Chavez with 12 points. Chavez did not score in the second half. Brooke Pahukoa led Boise State with 20 points. UNM’s Khadijah Shumpert scored only two points, but played only 17 minutes. Chavez and Beynon both had five boards for the Lobos.
The trip to Boise gave the Lobos a chance to pick up a signature win on the road, but wins over Fresno State, Boise State and/or Colorado State in The Pit will raise a few eyebrows – and make a shift in the MW standings.
The first half was important for the Lobos because it appeared the Broncos might run into a fat halftime lead. UNM was up 8-2 and then down 23-13 – outscored 21-to-5. The Lobos regrouped to take a 38-34 lead into the break.
The Lobos jumped out to a 10-5 (also 8-2) lead before the Broncos went on a 10-0 run to take a 15-10 lead. The Broncos got an 11-10 lead on a four-point play by Brooke Pahukoa. The Broncos kept rolling and went up 23-13.
Antiesha Brown then picked up a steal, went in for a layup, and added a free throw to make it 23-16. Alexa Chavez added two more at the free-throw line: 23-18 and then Chavez scored a layup to cut it to 23-20. Another Bronco turnover led to a Bryce Owens bucket and Boise called a timeout at 6:13 looking to guard its 23-22 lead. UNM was on a 9-0 run.
The Lobos finally grabbed the lead back on a jumper by Brown: 28-27. Chavez pushed UNM up 30-27 getting her fifth and sixth points at the line. UNM fought its way into the 38-34 halftime lead.
The second half did not go so well for the Lobos.
The teams went back and forth in the first minutes of the second half. Boise State went up 51-48 with 15:28 to play and stretched it to 58-50.
The Broncos stayed hot in the second half going up by 15 points at 71-56 with 7:55 to play. Boise went up 77-58 – 19 points – and then 80-59 with 3:50 to go. The Broncos were shooting 53 percent in the second half at that point.
The Broncos pretty much cruised in for the win — the seventh in eight games for Boise State.