University of New Mexico basketball women fall to .500 in league with loss at Boise State
Feb. 9—One stat line made all the difference in Thursday night's UNM-Boise State women's basketball game in Boise, Idaho.
The disparity was glaring.
Boise State shot a solid 46% from the field, while New Mexico was colder than a Rocky Mountain lake. The Lobos shot 33.8% from the field, including a frigid 18.5% (5 of 27) from 3-point range.
Shooting was the bottom line in the Broncos' 69-62 Mountain West victory. UNM dominated several other statistics and staged a valiant comeback, cutting a 17-point deficit to 66-62 with 3:08 left. But ineffective shooting would not allow the Lobos to complete the rally.
Boise State (13-13, 8-5) started as hot as UNM (14-11, 6-6) was cold. The Broncos led 14-3, 20-11 after one quarter, and 31-16 midway through the second.
"The first 10, 12 minutes we were awful," Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said. "Defensively, we let (the Broncos) get off to a great start and they built confidence and starting hit all kinds of shots."
UNM began to find a rhythm, scoring nine straight points to cut the deficit to 31-25 on an Amaya Brown layup. But after a defensive stop, Bradbury was whistled for a technical foul, and BSU followed with an 8-0 run.
"I thought (Shaiquel McGruder) was getting beat to death inside and I said so," Bradbury said. "I thought we were going strong to the basket and not getting any calls. I guess (the official) didn't agree."
Boise State led 39-28 at halftime and hit back-to-back 3s to open the third quarter, building its largest lead at 45-28.
At that point, UNM became the aggressor, forcing turnovers and attacking the basket to good effect. The Lobos racked up a 14-0 advantage in steals, outscored BSU 22-11 in points off turnovers and shot 17 free throws to the Broncos' six.
The Lobos trailed 56-46 after three quarters and made it 66-62 on an Aniyah Augmon putback with 3:08 left. But UNM went 0-for-5 the rest of the way, all on shots from 3-point range.
"That's not what we wanted but (BSU) backed everyone off to keep us from laying it in," Bradbury said. "Three of those shots were totally wide open. We couldn't buy one."
LaTascya Duff paced UNM with 15 point. Post Abby Muse had 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks for the Broncos.
Box score: Boise State 69, New Mexico 62
Updated Mountain West Conference women's basketball standings
