The Lobo offense was rolling early, but disappeared late in the game Saturday afternoon against the Colorado State Rams.
Colorado State (12-5, 4-1 MW) looked like it could not miss, seemingly sinking automatic 3-pointers in a 78-63 win over UNM at WisePies Arena.
The loss marks the second straight for New Mexico (8-8, 4-2 MW), dropping the team back to .500 on the season.
The first half favored the Lobos, even though Rams sophomore guard Sofie Tryggedsson kept her team around with formidable shooting from beyond the arc.
She led all scorers at the break with 14, drilling four big 3-pointers to keep the deficit at single digits.
Early on, the game was a back-and-forth affair. Junior guard Cherise Beynon was held to just four points at UNLV, but outdid that in the first quarter against Colorado State.
She accounted for five of the Lobos’ 14 points in the quarter – surpassing her game-high at UNLV where she only scored four points total. But the Rams hit three treys to give themselves an 18-14 advantage after the first period.
The second quarter opened up with two made free throws from Lobo sophomore center Jaisa Nunn, followed by a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman guard Mykiel Burleson.
UNM was able to hold the Rams scoreless until the 2:30 mark to seize a 30-18 lead. But a pair of late quarter 3-pointers made the halftime score 32-24.
The first couple of minutes in the third quarter were played at a frenetic pace, with both teams trading shots. But the Lobos got the edge on the Rams and extended their lead to 12 points once again, 41-29, with eight minutes left to play.
UNM was still in good shape, holding a 48-37 lead with under three minutes remaining in the quarter. But the lead evaporated quickly as CSU used the deep ball to close on a 10-2 run and trailed just 50-47 heading into the fourth.
The Lobos’ once-effective 1-3-1 zone defense that they used to nearly shut out the Rams in the second quarter wasn’t at all effective in the closing quarter. The Rams shot over the top of the zone and outscored UNM 21-5 in a 6-minute span to go up 16 and essentially ice the game.
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New Mexico tried to make a run, but the Rams answered each shot and took the road win, 78-63.
Head coach Mike Bradbury said his team wasn’t hitting shots when they mattered. The 3-point shot hurt the Lobos on both sides of the ball. Junior guard Alex Lapeyrolerie went 0-of-7 from beyond the arc, and her teammates didn’t shoot the ball much better either.
“You have to be able to make those shots if you’re going to beat a good team,” 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.”
The Lobos went 7-for-31 from beyond the arc, while the Rams hit an incredible 18 3-pointers on 43 attempts.
Bradbury recognized that his team played a different game in both the halves, but credited the Rams for sticking to their plan – something that eventually got them the win.
“Well, I mean, clearly two different halves there,” Bradbury said. “You got to give the (Rams0 credit. They’re good, and they’re good for a reason.”
Burleson led the Lobos with 17 points, while also tying her career-high of three steals. Nunn was next in scoring with 16 points off of the bench, while also logging in nine rebounds – one short of a double-double.
Beynon scored 15 points, but it came on 5-of-24 shooting. Senior center Richelle van der Keijl was double-teamed and triple-teamed most of the night, scoring seven points and bringing down nine rebounds.
The Rams had five players in double digits, with their best scorer on the night, Myanne Hamm, coming off of the bench to post a team-high 16 points.
The Lobos outperformed their opponent in rebounds, points in the paint, fast break points, and points off of turnovers.
But UNM was just 30.6 percent from the field overall, and a paltry 22.6 percent from beyond the arc. Much of the poor shooting came in the final quarter, when the team needed to close strong.
The Lobos will hope to clean up some of the mistakes in their next matchup on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. as they take on a tough opponent in Boise State. The game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women’s basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz
