The UNM women's basketball team used its trademark team-oriented style of play to defeat the University of Wyoming 70-61 on the road Thursday, setting the stage for a conference title showdown Saturday against Colorado State University.
Sophomore Melissa Forest came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points, including 10 straight during a key stretch in the second half to lead the Lobos' balanced scoring effort.
With the win, UNM improved to 21-6 overall and 10-3 in the Mountain West Conference to stay one game behind league-leader and 20th-ranked CSU. Wyoming fell to 12-14 overall and 4-9 in conference play.
The Lobos were tied with the University of Nevada at Las Vegas in second place in the conference standings and would have needed more than just a win over CSU to secure the title. But, the Rebels fell to Brigham Young University 64-48 Thursday night, leaving the Rams and Lobos alone in contention for the conference championship.
UNM led Wyoming 42-40 early in the second half when Forest scored eight straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Lobos a 50-40 edge with 12:33 left. Forward Tiffany Scaglione's 15-footer with 9:51 remaining gave the Lobos their biggest lead of the game at 56-44.
"Wyoming really is a blue-collar team with a lot of individual talent, and what you can't do is let them get ahead of you and start getting a lot of confidence," UNM head coach Don Flanagan said during his post-game radio show. "They have lots more skills than we do. We're kind of more team-oriented, and we really hit some great shots at some great moments, especially those 3-pointers by Melissa."
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The 12-point lead seemed to put the game out of reach, but Wyoming rallied, cutting the deficit to 60-55 with less than three minutes remaining. Despite the home-court advantage, the Cowgirls could not turn the corner and the Lobos thwarted the comeback.
"They have some good shooters and they have a lot of people who can create their own shot," Flanagan said. "It bothered me that they drove on us a little too much, and we will have to do a better job of defending the drive. But they were a little more aggressive with the dribble, but we cut it down in the second half, blocked out pretty well and broke their press."
Forest put back an offensive rebound and was fouled with 1:56 remaining. She missed the free throw, but forward Chelsea Grear grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Grear made both free throws to push the lead back to 10 at 66-56. Lobo guard Molly McKinnon hit four free throws in the final 31 seconds to seal the win.
"It's really about those little plays that add up and make a big difference," Flanagan.
Forest made six-of -seven shots from the floor in only 18 minutes. McKinnon and Jordan Adams contributed 12 points apiece. Grear finished with 11, including eight of the Lobos' final 14 points of the game.
During the first half, The Lobos took a 9-6 lead by making three 3-pointers, with two of those by McKinnon. The Cowgirls, who made seven of their first eight shots from the field, answered by scoring 10 straight to take a 16-9 lead. The lead grew to nine on a basket by Carly Stucky, but UNM responded with a 12-3 run of its own to tie the score at 27.
The Lobo reserves were responsible for 10 points during the run, including a career-high five points from junior forward Daja Adams, who had scored just 12 points all season coming into the game. UNM closed the half with an 8-2 run to take a 37-33 lead into the locker room.
All 12 players saw action, and point guard Mandi Moore played a team-high 30 minutes. Flanagan said the balanced playing time was essential to UNM's win and is something he expects to use again on Saturday against Colorado State.
"I've just told the team that from here on out, all the games are important and we have to treat them like tournament games," he said. "They should feel like a loss would mean not playing another game. They are really focused and played really well as a team tonight."
The Lobos and Rams close the regular season Saturday afternoon in Fort Collins, Colo. UNM beat Colorado State 56-50 in The Pit Jan. 31, but the Lobos have not beaten the Rams on their home floor in 16 years, with the most recent victory coming on March 6, 1986. Saturday's game time is at 2 p.m., and it can be heard on 610 KNML-AM.
