A record-setting effort was not enough for the Lobos, as the University of New Mexico women's basketball team dropped a road game to Mountain West rival San Diego State.
The Aztecs (9-9, 3-4 MW) got back to .500 and downed the Lobos (16-5, 4-4 MW) by a score of 97-89 on Saturday afternoon, spoiling a 41-point eruption from UNM senior guard Cherise Beynon.
Beynon set a new school record with her scoring performance and notched 12 points in the final frame, but the Aztecs erased an early fourth-quarter deficit and finished strong.
The game started as a high-scoring affair with both teams torching the nets for 28 points in the opening quarter.
Things cooled off in the second quarter, but New Mexico was able to string together a 9-0 run to seemingly take control of the game and snag a 41-35 lead after Beynon made a jumper with 3:17 left before halftime.
But the Aztecs came alive, rattling off a 13-0 spurt to claim a 48-41 advantage before Lobo sophomore guard Mykiel Burleson scored the final three points of the period to limit the damage. UNM trailed 48-44 heading into the locker room.
New Mexico was able to reclaim the lead in the third quarter, despite trailing by as many as eight points in the frame. Still trailing by six points with under three minutes remaining, the Lobos rallied to score the final seven points in the third to pull ahead 67-66 heading into the final quarter of play.
Beynon opened the fourth quarter with a driving layup, but things began to slip away for the Lobos after that. UNM made just one field goal over the next four minutes and change.
That drought coincided with San Diego State catching fire and resulted in a disaster for Beynon and company. The Aztecs surged ahead to garner an 83-71 lead and the Lobos never got close enough to get over the hump from there.
Tesha Buck made a 3-point basket with just over four minutes remaining to make it 88-82 and get the Lobos in striking distance again. Beynon missed a chance to make it a one-possession game on the next possession but hit a layup to pull UNM within 88-84 at the 2:21 mark.
SDSU put an end to the threat by scoring the next seven straight points to essentially seal the deal. The Aztecs conceded some late baskets, but held one for the 97-89 victory.
The loss was New Mexico's second in as many games, marking the first time the team has lost back-to-back games this season. The Lobos started the 2017-18 campaign with 13 consecutive wins, but have now lost four of its last five.
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The Aztecs were paced by Mckenzie Fort, who logged a 32-point effort. SDSU dominated the Lobos on the boards, outworking UNM on the glass by a margin of 45-33.
UNM will try to get back on track when it travels to Colorado State to take on the Rams on Jan. 27 at 2 p.m.
Robert Maler is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers basketball, football and tennis. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Robert_Maler.
