Staff Report
The UNM women's basketball team is lucky it had some breathing room in the Mountain West Conference.
The Lobos lost to Brigham Young on Saturday 55-46 in Provo, Utah, but stayed in first place in the MWC.
The loss dropped UNM to 8-2 in the conference for a tie with Utah. The Lobos still hold first place because they swept the season series against the Utes.
Senior Mandi Moore might be thinking luck is not on her side this season. The Lobos' point guard was hit in the face with 12:20 remaining in the game.
The impact smashed Moore's protective glasses into her right eye, causing a laceration she needed six stitches to close up.
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Moore wears the glasses to protect her left eye, which was jabbed by Vanessa Espinoza's finger in a game on Feb. 5 against the Colorado State Rams. She missed the rest of the game after receiving the six stitches and is listed as day-to-day.
BYU's win came with a lot of help from the free-throw line, canning 19-of-23 free throws. The Lobos, on the other hand, made only 5-of-9 attempts from the free-throw line.
The Cougars' top-ranked defense in the MWC gave the Lobos fits. UNM heaved up 19 shots from the three-point line but sank only three of them for 16 percent. They were 19-of-59 from the field overall.
BYU didn't fare much better from the field. The team shot 30 percent on a 16-of-53 performance, including a 4-of-15 three-point effort.
Freshman Dionne Marsh led the Lobos in scoring with 13 points in only 23 minutes played. She grabbed nine rebounds as well, including seven offensive ones.
The Lobos come back to The Pit to take on the San Diego State Aztecs on Thursday at 7 p.m.
