by Brandon Call
Daily Lobo
LAS CRUCES - The UNM women's basketball team hadn't lost to NMSU since 1996.
But the Lobos dropped a 58-42 heartbreaker on Sunday at the Pan American Center, ending a 22-game winning streak against the Aggies.
"A team that has been down and continuously been known for losing is going to play very hard, and I think some of us might have taken that for granted," senior forward Dionne Marsh said.
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Marsh said it was disappointing to lose to the Lobos' rival in her last season.
"I've been a part of a lot of winning teams, and this game is a tradition for us," Marsh said. "This is my senior year. To break the streak, it's really frustrating."
However, UNM is not taking any credit away from the Aggies.
NMSU is a much-improved program, Lobo head coach Don
Flanagan said.
"They won that game pretty handily," Flanagan said. "We're not making excuses. They were well prepared and came out ready to play."
Last season, NMSU was 13-18 on the season, finishing seventh in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Aggies also return All-WAC honoree Sherell Neal, who led NMSU with 12 points.
And part of the Aggies' new-found success can be attributed to freshman guard Madison Spence, daughter of NMSU head coach Darin Spence.
"I would have recruited her, but I didn't think her dad would let her go to New Mexico," Flanagan said. "She is a great free-throw shooter, so you don't want to foul her. Offensively, she is the one they are going to end up going to, because she understands the game so well. She knows where to deliver the ball, and she can pull up and shoot the three. She's a pretty darn good freshman."
Spence, a native of Las Cruces and a Mayfield High School graduate, finished the game with 10 points, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range and five assists.
In addition to Spence's versatility, poor shooting plagued the Lobo offense.
UNM shot just 21 percent on the game, going 11-for-53 from the field. The Lobos were also 4-of-18 from behind the arc.
"Either we had our eyes closed, or we had one of the worst shooting nights ever," Flanagan said. "It was horrible. It was hard to sit through."
Sophomore guard Amy Beggin, one of two UNM players to shoot above 30 percent on the night, exited the game with 2:52 on clock with a concussion sustained during a pile-up in the second half.
"Amy's one tough girl," Flanagan said. "She was losing her balance, and the trainer was icing her as a precaution. Believe me, she's not one to come out of the game willingly."
Beggin, who was playing with a black eye she got against Nicholls State on Nov. 23, finished with a game-high 16 points.
Marsh said the Lobos will have to rest, recuperate and put this game behind them if they want to win in the rematch at The Pit on Dec. 21.
"We have one more chance against them at home this season," Marsh said. "Now, we know what they have. We will work hard these next few weeks and be ready for them next time."
Women's
basketball vs. Norfolk State
Friday, 7 p.m.
The Pit
