LAS
CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State
women's basketball team pulled away midway through the second half behind the
sharp shooting of junior guards Jasmine Lowe and Danisha Corbett in an 85-76
defeat of Boise State at the Pan American Center Saturday afternoon.
Lowe led the Aggies with 23 points
including 14 in the second half. Corbett scored 18 for NM State. Corbett
knocked down a pair of threes on consecutive possessions in the second half to
give the Aggies the lead for good at 66-61 with 7:38 remaining and secure the
season sweep of the Broncos.
NM State improves to 15-8 overall
and 5-4 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) with the victory. Boise State
drops to 14-9 and 3-6 in the WAC after the defeat.
"Anytime you can get a win against
an experienced team like Boise State you'll take it," said head coach Darin
Spence. "We did a lot of good things tonight. Corbett came in off the bench
again for us tonight and I think that frees her up a little bit. She stepped up
and made some big shots for us. I'm really pleased for her and proud of her
tonight. "
NM State shot 46 percent from the
field while holding Boise State below 39 percent. The Aggies forced 18 Bronco
turnovers in the game, scoring 16 points off the miscues. But the Aggie bench
made the biggest difference in the game, led by Corbett's 18 points, NM State
outscored BSU's reserves 27-11.
NM State opened the game scoring
seven of the first nine points, kicked off by a three-point basket by Lowe. The
five-point margin held up as the Aggies' largest lead of a tight first
half. Boise State answered with a 10-6
rally to cut the NM State lead to 13-12 with 12 minutes remaining in the half.
Neither team led by more than three
over the next eight minutes of the stanza. BSU went on a 6-0 spurt at the
six-minute mark to take its largest lead of the half at four, 31-27. Soon after, the Aggies regained the lead after
6-0 run of their own. But it was the Broncos who led after 20 minutes 36-35.
The Aggie defense forced 10 BSU
first-half turnovers. Both teams struggled from long range as NM State hit one
of 13 behind the arc after Lowe's opening three while Boise State missed all
six of their attempts. The Broncos made up the difference at the line hitting
10 of 14 foul shots compared to the Aggies three makes in five tries.
Both teams knocked down a pair of
three-point jumpers to open the second half. Then the Broncos jumped out to a
quick 10-point lead after a 14-2 run just two minutes into the half to take its
largest lead of the game at 53-43. NM State head coach Darin Spence was issued
a technical foul during the run at the 15:14 mark for arguing calls with the
officials from the sidelines.
Sophomore Kelsie Rozendaal gave the
Aggies some good minutes off the bench to spark NM State with her first career
three-point bucket and a pair of free throws in eight minutes of play to help
the home team close within five of BSU.
NM State continued to chip away at
the BSU lead over the next several minutes as Corbett and Lowe took over the
Aggie offense. Corbett knocked down a trey at the 11:55 mark closing the margin
to four at 56-52. Lowe scored seven of the next eight points on offense for the
Aggies to give NM State the advantage at 60-59 - its first lead since the 18:05
mark of the second half. After two free throw makes by the Broncos gave BSU a
one-point lead, Corbett knocked down three-pointers on consecutive possessions
for NM State to give the Aggies a 66-61 lead. NM State would never trail again,
building its largest lead of nine with one minute left in regulation.
Boise State senior forward Melissa
Rima recorded a career game against the Aggies with her second career
double-double. Rima doubled her career high of 12 points set in Boise against
the Aggies with a 24-point, 12-rebound performance this evening behind 16 made
free throws on 19 attempts from the line. Senior guard Tasha Harris added 17
for the Broncos.
New Mexico State hits the road for a
two-game road trip next week with games at Hawai'i Wed. Feb. 10 and at
first-place Fresno State Sat. Feb. 13.
A
live broadcast of each game can be heard across the state on the Aggie Sports
Radio Network with Kyle Doperalski on KSNM-AM 570.
Click NMStateSports.com for all of the latest
women's basketball news.
Courtesy: Tim Barnett-Queen
