The No. 7 seed women’s basketball team pulled an improbable second half comeback against No. 2 UNLV in the first round of the MWC tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. last night, ending the game 61-58.
With 7:10 left in the game, the Lobos were down 54-45, but hit four straight 3-pointers in a minute and a half to tie the game, which gave them the momentum they needed to end with a 16-3 run to win the game.
“I am so proud of these young ladies,” head coach Yvonne Sanchez said. “You know we’re happy that we won, but we’re not just happy to be here; we want to win.”
UNLV was playing on its home court, but a majority of the 4,195 fans were supporting the Lobos.
Senior forward Porche Torrance said the pro-Lobo crowd helped them get the win.
“It’s a blessing to have the fan support that we have here,” she said. “Without them, with all the adversity we have been through, they have stuck by our side. We feed off their energy and that helped us out a lot.”
The Lobos had lost to UNLV twice during conference play, but started the game as the dominant team and held the lead for much of the first half.
With 6:33 left in the first half, the score was tied at 16, but UNM went on a 10-3 run to take a 26-19 lead with 3:52 left in the half.
UNLV closed the deficit and UNM took a 31-28 lead into half.
The second half started with numerous lead changes, but the Rebels began to pull away and took a 49-41 lead with 11:34 left.
With less than eight minutes left, UNLV had a nine-point lead, but in a two-minute span the Lobos hit four 3-pointers and went on a 12-1 run to take a 57-55 lead.
Junior guard Caroline Durbin hit the first 3, before senior Nikki Nelson hit back-to-back 3-pointers, before Durbin rounded out the comeback with another 3.
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“We hit two straight threes and they just felt the energy,” Sanchez said.
Durbin came into the game averaging 15.4 points per game, but only had six points in the game before her 3 during that stretch. She finished with 12 points.
UNLV only scored three points in the final 4:55 of the game as the Lobos won.
The Lobos shot 40.4 percent for the game compared to UNLV’s 41.8 percent, but UNM shot 8-14 from 3-point range.
UNLV head coach Kathy Olivier said UNM’s 3-point shots won them the game.
“I just thought New Mexico did a good job,” she said. “They (UNM) hit the 3s. We had a drought in the second half when we were up by nine and they got hot and we got in trouble.”
The game had 16 lead changes and nine ties. UNM had nine turnovers at halftime but ended the game with just 13.
“I think that was the biggest thing we addressed at halftime,” Sanchez said. “We said we needed to take care of the ball and execute.”
Torrance finished with a game-high 20 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.
“I told myself, ‘I am a senior and this was my last opportunity,’” she said. “I just had to give it all up for my teammates and I really just wanted to win this game.”
Last year the Lobos were the No. 7 seed in the tournament, but won two straight games in the tournament only to lose in the semifinals to TCU.
Torrance said the team is ready to make another run this year.
“We told ourselves we need to take it one game at a time,” she said.
The Lobos will take on No.5 Boise State Friday in the semifinal.
The Lobos lost both meetings with the Broncos this season.
