BOISE, IDAHO — Junior Alex Lapeyrolerie scored the game-tying 3-pointer with 27 seconds left in the game on Wednesday night, but it wasn’t quite enough as The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team fell 64-62 in the final seconds to Boise State on the road.
With the loss, UNM is now 14-11, 9-5 in the Mountain West while the Broncos improve to 17-7, 7-6 in the league.
“We controlled the whole game, but we couldn’t get a rebound in the fourth quarter,” head coach Mike Bradbury said. “This is the best we’ve been all year defensively and it’s disappointing, (rebounding) is usually our strength and tonight, that was our weakness. We’ll get it corrected.”
The Lobos were short-staffed on the night, as they will be for the remainder of the season, and battled throughout the game fielding just seven players compared to the rotating staff of 10 for Boise State. Senior Richelle van der Keijl led the Lobos with 22 points and 13 rebounds for her eighth double-double and her fifth game scoring 20 points or more this season.
van der Keijl led four Lobos who scored in double digits including Lapeyrolerie (17), junior Jayda Bovero (11) and junior Cherise Beynon (10). Boise State redshirt-sophomore Marijke Vanderschaaf led the Broncos with 26 points as the Lobos succeeded in limiting BSU’s leading scorer, Brooke Pahukoa, to just seven points on the night.
The Lobos and the Broncos remained evenly matched through the first half but the Lobos gained the advantage toward the end of the second quarter with a 6-0 run, going into halftime up by 10, 31-21. At the conclusion of the third quarter, junior Jayda Bovero hit a three from the bottom left corner to bring the Lobo lead back to 10 heading into the final frame, 51-41.
It all came down to the nail-biting fourth quarter when Boise State opened with a 9-2 run to make it a three-point game, 53-50. A pair of Bovero free throws extended the UNM lead to five, 55-50 before BSU freshman Riley Lupfer drilled another three to cut the Lobo lead to two, 55-53 with 5:54 remaining in the game.
van der Keijl and Bovero worked to get UNM back up by six, 59-53 with 4:51 on the clock before the Broncos’ Braydey Hodgins continued the string of threes to cut the deficit back to three, 59-56 with 4:14 left after which van der Keijl racked up her fifth foul, forcing her to leave the game with 3:16 left.
Neither team was able to find the basket for nearly two minutes until Pahukoa hit a jumper to bring it within one point and a pair of BSU free throws put Boise State on top for the first time since early in the first quarter with 1:24 left on the clock, 60-59.
Another Bronco jumper put the home team on top by three and Coach Bradbury called a timeout with 29 seconds on the clock to draft a 3-point play. It took two seconds for the Lobos to run the play to perfection, allowing Lapeyrolerie to tie it up 62-62 with a three from the top of the arc – 27 seconds left. Boise State reclaimed possession and made a short jumper on the right side with .7 seconds on the clock to go up by two for the eventual 64-62 final.
The Lobos called another timeout with fractions of a second left and advanced the ball, once again drafting a play for Lapeyrolerie, but time wasn’t on UNM’s side. Lapeyrolerie broke free off of the inbound and put up a quick, one-footed three-point attempt that didn’t quite hit the mark en route to the final score.
On the night, the Lobos outshot Boise State 36.4 to 34.2 percent from the floor but were outrebounded 49-40. UNM also held an advantage in the paint, scoring 32 points to 18 but BSU capitalized on turnovers, scoring 16 points to just eight for UNM off turnovers. Boise State also capitalized on the boards, collecting 20 second-chance points to just six for the Lobos.
UNM will look to get back on track as it takes on Fresno State at home on Saturday for the Lobos Love Pink game at 1 p.m.