New Mexico’s women’s basketball team fell behind early and couldn’t mount a successful comeback before being eliminated 82-71 by Colorado State in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament
LaTora Duff led the Lobos with 22 points and six three-pointers and had four players finish in double figures. Shaiquel McGruder had 14 second-half points, going 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, LaTascya Duff finished with 11 including three, three-pointers and Jaedyn De La Cerda finished with 10 points.
McGruder led the team with seven rebounds and two blocks with LaTora Duff and De La Cerda tying for the team lead with five assists. The Lobos trailed 32-30 at the break and 56-46 after three quarters. After CSU opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, UNM answered with a 5-0 run to bring the margin back to single digits at 59-51, but CSU kept answering to prevent the comeback.
UNM made six three-pointers in the fourth quarter alone, matching what CSU made in the entire game. The Lobos finished with 12 three-pointers as a team and had a better shooting percentage from three but couldn’t find an answer for points in the paint with CSU scoring 40 points in the paint.