The Lobos had one last opportunity that could have sent Wednesday night’s game into overtime, but the shot was off the mark as New Mexico fell on the road in a nail-biter to Colorado State, 58-55.
For the second time in three games, redshirt junior guard Alex Lapeyrolerie had to heave a last-second shot to win or tie the game after the team gave up a basket in the final seconds. But the Lobos were on the losing end both times.
The loss dropped the Lobos to 15-12 overall and 11-5 in the Mountain West conference, while the Rams (21-6, 13-2 MW) clinched a share of the MW title for a fourth straight season.
Lapeyrolerie led the charge for the Lobos, scoring 16 points on 6-for-16 shooting, but she wasn’t the only one to hit double-digit scoring. Fellow juniors Cherise Beynon and Laneah Bryan were close behind, scoring 14 and 12 points, respectively.
All 12 of Bryan’s points came from the 3-point line, where she went an impressive 4-for-5. And Beynon recorded a double-double by pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds.
Senior center Richelle van der Keijl seemed to have an off-night offensively as she was held to six points on 2-of-8 shooting, though she did bring down 10 rebounds.
Despite the loss, head coach Mike Bradbury had a lot of good things to say about his team and their performance on the road against the Rams.
“I give our kids a lot of credit,” Bradbury said in a release. “They fought, scrapped and played tonight, but we just couldn't make enough shots. When you're playing against someone as talented as her (Ellen Nystrom), you've got to be able to shoot it better than 30 percent and we just couldn't tonight.”
Bradbury said the two best defensive team in the league squared off on Wednesday, and he couldn’t have been more proud of his players and the job they did.
The first quarter didn't bode well for the Lobos, as the Rams jumped out to an early 19-12 lead at the end of the period.
Colorado State continued to inch ahead in the second quarter, getting the better end again to extend things to a 27-17 lead over the Lobos.
But in the third quarter, New Mexico stepped on the gas pedal and started climbing back into the game. The Lobos went on an 8-0 run midway through the third to close the Rams’ lead to a single point with 4:56 to go.
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But CSU quickly responded to regain control and stretch the lead back to nine. The Lobos made another run to close out the period, with Lapeyrolerie and Beynon both drilling threes and cutting the lead to 41-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
The teams continued to trade shots throughout the fourth quarter, with neither squad able to make a sustained run.
The final moments of the fourth quarter hit a fever pitch, as March Madness seemed to arrive a few weeks early.
UNM broke through to take a 52-51 lead on a Bryan 3-pointer with 2:37 remaining. But the shot was answered by CSU’s Myanne Hamm, with a deep shot of her own.
Later in the game, the Lobos appeared to be in good shape, still trailing by two points. But Hamm struck again, stealing the ball from Beynon and coasting down the court for an easy lay-up to put CSU up four with 47 seconds left.
Bryan made it interesting by knocking down another 3-pointer to make the score 56-55 on the next possession. The Lobos still needed to make a stop on defense, but were unable to make it happen.
Colorado State made a layup with just five seconds remaining, and after Lapeyrolerie was unable to tie the game on the final shot, the Rams walked away with a 58-55 win, securing at least a share of the MW regular season title.
As a team, the Lobos shot just 30.2 percent from the field compared to 39.3 percent from the Rams.
The Lobos were able to outrebound the Rams 45-35, though it wasn’t enough to overcome the poor shooting performance.
Up next for the Lobos is a rematch with Mountain West foe Wyoming — which currently sits at second in the conference standings — at WisePies Arena on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. 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.
