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Going into Saturday, the New Mexico women’s basketball team had not lost to Colorado State in The Pit since Jan. 6, 1998. The Lobos continued that record with a 71-56 trouncing over the Rams on Saturday.
Ten players scored for the Lobos, with three in double figures.
Sophomore Antiesha Brown led the way with 16, senior guard Caroline Durbin was second with 13 and junior forward Deeva Vaughn was third with 11. New Mexico’s bench outscored Colorado State’s bench 34-11 for its 14th straight win over CSU.
Head coach Yvonne Sanchez said the Lobos are starting to play their best basketball of the season.
“I think they are starting to come together and learn each other. You want to peak now. It feels really good to win the way we did,” she said.
The first half was filled with 3-point shooting from both teams.
The Rams shot 66.7 percent (6-9) from beyond the arc, while the Lobos shot 61.5 percent (8-13). New Mexico jumped out to a 35-29 lead, ignited by Brown nailing two treys in the final 55 seconds of the first half.
Brown said the team expects her to provide energy off the bench night in and night out.
“That’s my role on the team. I try to give everyone that extra boost by talking or hustling on every play,” she said.
In the second half, the Lobos instituted a punishing defense and dominant inside scoring to further their lead. UNM limited CSU to only one field goal the first seven minutes of the second half.
While the Lobos scored only four points inside the paint in the first half, they scored 20 points inside in the second half.
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The Mountain West contest had many implications on the conference standings. New Mexico’s (14-11, 6-6 MWC) win bumps the Lobos to fourth place, behind San Diego State (21-5, 12-1), Fresno State (18-8, 10-3) and Wyoming (20-6, 9-4). Had UNM lost, it would have fallen to sixth place, behind UNLV (10-17, 6-7) and Colorado State (9-16, 5-7).
Sanchez said the win shows the team is improving.
“We’re all fighting for as high of a seed as we can get in the conference tournament. Every game counts for us. One game at a time works wonders, but this game was a good one for us to get,” she said.
