Women's Basketball: UNM loses regular season finale on the road to San Diego State

The regular season finale didn’t go according to plan as the Lobo women’s basketball team lost on the road Friday night against San Diego State.

New Mexico (15-14, 10-8 MW) trailed for nearly the entirety of the game, falling to the Aztecs 63-51.

The Lobos struggled to find the hoop all night, shooting just 29 percent from the field. But the Aztecs didn't fare much better, connecting on 35 percent of its shots against UNM.

With both teams having an off shooting night, the UNM scoring threats of senior center Richelle van der Keijl and junior guard Cherise Beynon were effectively neutralized.

The duo was confined to just 19 combined points. Beynon scored nine points on 3-of-13 shooting, while van der Keijl went 5-of-9 to notch 10 points.

Another junior guard provided the team-high on the offensive end, as Alex Lapeyrolerie came through with 14 points. She went 4-of-13 on the night, with all four makes coming from behind the 3-point line.

But if Lobo fans were looking for a bright spot in Friday night’s loss, they might find it interesting that all eight active players on the roster got playing time. Freshmen Brittany Panetti and Hannah Sjerven combined for six of the Lobos’ 11 bench points, with the other five coming from junior Jayda Bovero.

The team's inability to shoot the ball led to some problems in other areas, too. The Lobos – who usually don't get out-rebounded – were outworked on the glass, allowing SDSU to secure 46 rebounds to win the battle on the boards by a margin of seven.

The Lobos got off to a fast start, with Beynon hitting a 3-pointer to start the game and take an early lead. But the Aztecs quickly responded to take a lead of their own.

Lobo junior Laneah Bryan – after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1.2 seconds on the clock – knocked down two of her three free throw attempts to put the Lobos up 16-15.

But the Aztecs wound up on top after one quarter of play, knocking down a 3-pointer to give them an 18-16 advantage going into the second quarter.

Both teams traded shots throughout the second quarter, though San Diego State was still able to hold onto its lead, with a 31-30 halftime advantage.

The Lobos seemed to fade in the third quarter, while the Aztecs ramped up their play. It was a bad combination as SDSU outscored the Lobos 18-6 in the quarter to build a healthy 49-36 lead entering the fourth quarter. 

The deficit proved too big to overcome as the Aztecs were able to maintain control despite being outscored in the final quarter of play. The Lobos tried to work their way back into things, but the Aztecs held on for the 63-51 home win.

The Lobos could have used the momentum heading into the Mountain West Tournament, but didn’t appear to lose anything in terms of seeding and which team they would have faced.

New Mexico enters the tournament as the fifth seed and will begin its quest for a conference title against the fourth-seeded Boise State Broncos – a team the Lobos split wins with this season.

The game is set to take place on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women's basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.