Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
17-6, 9-3MW
New Mexico
13-10, 9-3MW
Women's basketball recap: CSU suffers setback at New Mexico
2/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Poor shooting, including two scoring droughts totaling 14.5 minutes, were to blame for Colorado State women's basketball's 67-40 loss at WisePies Arena Wednesday evening.
CSU (17-6, 9-3 MW) remains in second place in the Mountain West standings, but is now tied with New Mexico (13-10, 9-3).
"It was over early," said head coach Ryun Williams. "Their energy was much better than ours. Every toughness category they won, and it was for 40 minutes. They just came in here and ambushed us. This is OK if we learn from it. We had a loss like this last year in Wyoming. If we take this game and learn from it, handle it the right way as a team, it might not be an awful thing."
New Mexico was shot well above its average field-goal percentage in the first half, opening the contest 5-of-7, and closing the first frame shooting a respectable 55.2 percent clip. Meanwhile, CSU suffered, converting a .273 field-goal percentage and committing seven turnovers, which the Lobos turned into 12 points.
In the midst of CSU's poor shooting effort was a 7.5 minute scoring drought to which UNM took a sizable advantage, going on an 11-0 run. New Mexico's efforts were nearly duplicated in the second half, as the Lobos added seven points during another 7-minute Rams' drought midway through the final frame.
Colorado State was held to its largest deficit of the season falling down by 29 early in the second half. The Lobos shot 49.1 percent to CSU's season-low 24.1 on the night. Not a single Ram reached double figures in the matchup. AJ Newton and Elin Gustavsson each posted a team-high eight points.
Veronika Mirkovic was a bright spot for the Rams as the clock wound down, grabbing tough rebounds and creating second-chance opportunities. She tallied four rebounds and one point in 9 minutes on the court.
Tonight's attendance was 5,388, the largest crowd the Rams have played in front of this season. New Mexico's Cherise Beynon eclipsed her season average of 8.0 points per contest in the first stanza. She totaled a game-high 18 points, shooting an outstanding 80.0 percent. Teammates Antiesha Brown and Bryce Owens added 14 and 11, respectively.
The Rams started Gritt Ryder, Newton, Ellen Nystrom, Gustavsson and Emilie Hesseldal for the third straight game and the fourth time this season. CSU is now 4-1 when those five take the court for tipoff.
Colorado State returns to the friendly confines of Moby Arena Saturday for its annual Play4Kay Pink Out contest vs. San Diego State (9-13, 6-5 MW). Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. MT.
