LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team fell to the No. 1 seed and No. 22 ranked Colorado State 60-42 in the 2016 Mountain West Championships semifinals Wednesday night in the Thomas & Mack Center.
It wasn’t a great shooting night for the Lobos as they finished the game shooting 24 percent from the field and 23 percent from the three. The Lobos did shot 75 percent from the free throw line, making 9 of 12.
Colorado State really keyed in on senior Khadijah Shumpert. Shumpert was 2-for-10 from the field but finished 9-for-10 from the free throw line to lead the Lobos with 13 points. Senior Bryce Owens was second on the team with eight points and led the Lobos in rebounds with seven.
The game did start off well as the Lobos were only down by one after the first quarter, 13-12. The Lobos tied the game up at 7-7 with a freshman Jaisa Nunn layup. The Lobos took the lead with 1:47 left in the quarter but a little over 20 seconds later the Rams went up 13-12 to finish out the period.
It was the second quarter that held the Lobos back. They only scored six points, coming from sophomores Jayda Bovero and Cherise Beynon and Shumpert. The Lobos scored at the 7:16 mark but didn’t get on the board until 1:34 left in the half after two free throws from Shumpert.
New Mexico picked up there game a little bit in the third quarter. They were 5-for-17 from the field but the Rams took their biggest lead of 15 with 4:50 left in the period. The Lobos would bring it back within 12 and then 10 but back to 12 in the final two minutes. CSU scored with 17 seconds left to lead 46-32 going into the final quarter.
The Lobos tried to get themselves back in the game but cold shooting kept them behind. They shot just 15 percent in the final quarter, going 2-for-13 from the field.
The Lobos finish out regular season and nonconference season with a 17-14 record. They finished fifth in the Mountain West with a 9-9 record.