Box Score SILVER CITY, N.M. – Behind a dominating defense and even point distribution, the Western New Mexico University women's basketball team snapped a 10 game losing streak against the Colorado School of Mines with a 68-50 victory to open Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play Friday evening.
The win marked the first in the series since 1995-96 for the Lady Mustangs.
Colorado Mines (5-2, 0-1 RMAC) had the start they wanted, moving ahead 7-0 nearly three minutes in.
Ashley Mitchell (Fort Defiance, AZ/Window Rock High School) got WNMU (3-1, 1-0 RMAC) going with a jumper a few seconds later and added a three at the 15:48 mark to bring the Lady Mustangs to within two at 9-7.
WNMU gained their first lead at the 12:07 mark as
Tessa Jones (Truth or Consequences, NM/Hot Springs High School) grabbed an offensive rebound and then put back for the 17-16 lead.
Jade Botelho (Honolulu, HI/Iolani High School) extended the lead to three with a jumper on the next trip down the floor.
Following a spurt by the Orediggers to go back in front by four, WNMU would counter with a jumper by
Stephanie Douthit (Phoenix, AZ/Desert Mountain ) and then a long ball by
Jordan Gutierrez (Albuquerque, NM/Valley High School) had the Lady Mustangs back up by one.
WNMU would hold a pair of four-point leads the remainder of the half with the final one coming with just seconds left when Gutierrez got loose behind the three-point line and connected for another triple for the 36-32 lead at halftime.
RaTanya Newsome (Tucson, AZ/Tucson High School) with nine points and Gutierrez with eight paced the Lady Mustangs over the first 20 minutes.
The defense then paced play for WNMU in the second half, holding the Orediggers nearly the final 10 minutes of the second half without a field goal.
WNMU blitzed CSM to begin the second stanza, running off a 6-0 run with
Nalani Hernandez (Tucson, AZ/Tucson High School) capping the run with a jumper three minutes in. Hernandez helped boost the lead to 15 with a jumper a few minutes later.
After the Orediggers used a 9-0 run to get back to within six, the WNMU defense then limited CSM to no field goals over a nine minute span and went on a 17-5 run.
Desiree Young (North Ogden, UT/Weber High School) ignited the run with a hustle rebound and put back. The Lady Mustangs would score the next 13 points to take a 19-point lead before the Orediggers scored a free throw with just three minutes to play.
Stephanie Moore (Anton, TX/Anton High School) led all-scorers going for 16 points, making 5-of-8 from the field and 6-of-6 from the foul line. Newsome and Hernandez added 12 points apiece, while Gutierrez added 11. Newsome and Hernandez tied for the team lead in rebounds with each bringing down eight. Mitchell led in assists with seven, while Newsome had a team-high three steals.
WNMU shot 47.4 percent (27-57) for the game, while holding the Orediggers to a 36.1 percent (22-61) clip, including just a 27.6 percent (8-29) effort in the second half. Taylor Helbig led CSM with 11 points, but tallied only three in the second half.
WNMU will host Colorado Christian Saturday night beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Cougars fell to New Mexico Highlands, 78-70, earlier tonight.
