ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Despite a strong Lobo showing through three quarters of play, The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team fell to visiting Colorado State on Saturday afternoon at WisePies Arena after the Rams tallied 40 points in the last 12 minutes to run away with the game, 78-63.
The loss is just the second for UNM in conference play as the Lobos slip back to .500 at 8-8 on the season, 4-2 in the Mountain West. Colorado State improves to 12-5, 4-1 MW.
The Lobos led 32-24 at halftime, shooting 33.3 percent from the floor and even led after the third quarter, 50-47, but CSU’s offense was on fire in the fourth quarter en route to the win. The Rams shot 73 percent from the floor (11-15), 75 percent from the three-point line (6-8), and the Lobo offense had trouble rebounding from the momentum shift.
“You have to be able to make those shots if you’re going to beat a good team,” head coach Mike Bradbury said. “That’s the bad news – that we have to make them. The good news is we’ve made them before, we’re capable.”
UNM led in several key statistical categories on the day including outrebounding the Rams 52-35 and committing 12 fouls to 14 for CSU. In addition, the Lobos outscored the Rams in the paint 26-12, off of turnovers 15-8, on second-chance points 20-0 and on fast-break points 15-0. The Lobos also went 12-of-17 from the stripe compared to just 4-of-7 for CSU.
The Lobos were led by freshman Mykiel Burleson who scored 17 points and tied her career-best three steals. Sophomore Jaisa Nunn followed with 16 points and nine rebounds, just shy of her second double-double of the season, while junior Cherise Beynon scored 15 points, collected eight rebounds and dished six assists.
Colorado State was led by five players in double figures including redshirt-freshman Myanne Hamm who went 4-of-7 from behind the arc (6-of-11 from the floor) for 16 points.
The Lobos started out strong in the first quarter with Beynon shaking off her performance at UNLV and opening the Lobo scoring with an effortless jumper at the top of the key in her first shot of the game. Beynon followed with a three and the teams continued to trade baskets. CSU was up by four, 18-14, at the end of the first quarter however as the Rams’ Sofie Tryggedsson nailed a trio of threes from the lower left corner.
The Lobos took a six-point lead in the second quarter on back-to-back threes from Burleson within 33 seconds and extended it to 12 on a 9-0 run before CSU whittled the lead back down to eight, 32-24, closing the half on a 3-pointer by Rams’ sophomore Callie Kaiser.
UNM extended its lead back to 12, 41-29 in the third quarter before an 8-0 run made it 42-37 New Mexico with 4:09 left in the third. A 7-0 Lobo run that included a layup by senior Richelle van der Keijl and a 3-pointer by Nunn put UNM back up by 11 before CSU once again battled back and made it a three-point game heading into the fourth, 50-47.
The Rams opened the fourth quarter with a 21-5 run over the first six minutes to get out to a 16-point lead. The run included six 3-pointers and capped off a period of seven minutes and 47 seconds when CSU hit 9-of-10 threes before ending the game with a 15-point advantage.
The Lobos will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 18 when they host Boise State at WisePies Arena – The Pit for a 7 p.m. contest.