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Western New Mexico University Athletics

Western New Mexico University Athletics
Takiyah Lopez
Jay Hemphill, WNMU
60
Winner N.M. Highlands NMHUWB 2-3
56
Western N.M. WNMU 0-5
Winner
N.M. Highlands NMHUWB
2-3
60
Final
56
Western N.M. WNMU
0-5
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
N.M. Highlands NMHUWB 19 10 17 14 60
Western N.M. WNMU 18 13 8 17 56

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Brian Kortz

Lady Mustangs and Cowgirls Matchup in Game That Goes Down to the End

SILVER CITY, N.M. – Having faced each other a lot over the years being former Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents, this one was just like the old days with the teams trading shots and making big plays. The Western New Mexico University women's basketball team jumped out to an early lead and after New Mexico Highlands University held a sizeable lead in the fourth quarter, it ended up going down to the end before the Cowgirls escaped with the 60-56 victory Wednesday night.

The game featured just about everything in a very tightly contested battle with neither team really able to pull away. Shooting was tough for both teams, along with turnovers, so hustle stats became important as WNMU (0-5) utilized a solid 9-0 edge on second-chance points and 18-15 edge on points off turnovers. Each team held five leads and foul shots became big down the stretch as NMHU (2-3) held a 16-12 made free throw edge.

Following an early basket by the Cowgirls, junior Takiyah Lopez (El Paso, TX/Chapin) got the Lady Mustangs on the board with a layup a minute in. That helped start a 7-0 run with junior Ciara Fields (El Paso, TX/El Dorado) and senior Melody McLaughlin (Tucson, AZ/Mountain View) tallying points for the 7-2 lead.

The lead stretched to six at 11-5 on a jumper by senior Myla Woods-Brown (Roswell, NM/Roswell) at the 5:30 mark, before NMHU came fighting back the remainder of the opening quarter as they closed the final five minutes on a 14-7 run to hold a 19-18 lead through the first 10 minutes.

NMHU opened the second quarter pushing the advantage to three before freshman Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa) drilled a three-pointer and after a fastbreak layup by Lopez, McLaughlin sunk a three-pointer three minutes in to give WNMU a 26-21 lead.

The Lady Mustangs were again in front by six with two minutes to play when Vickery hit a foul shot for the 29-23 lead. NMHU, just like the end of the first quarter, came storming back as they finished the final two minutes on a 6-2 run to leave WNMU ahead by just two at 31-29 at halftime.

It was all Cowgirls throughout most of the third quarter, as they outscored WNMU 17-8, stretching the lead to as high as eight a few times before holding a 46-39 lead entering the final frame.

Allyah George connected on a jumper 15 seconds into the fourth quarter to give NMHU their largest lead of the game of nine at 48-39. Just when it seemed it was all Cowgirls, the Lady Mustangs found their rhythm. Vickery got things going with a trey and after junior Megan Looney (Phoenix, AZ/Apache Junction) hit a jumper, freshman Rachel Francisco (Seattle, WA/Holy Names Academy) gave WNMU the lead as she closed the 10-0 run with a jumper and then a three-pointer for the 49-48 lead near the midway point of the fourth.

The teams then traded leads down the stretch until Ari Baca and Amari Terry converted three of four foul shots to break at 51-all tie and give NMHU a 54-51 lead with 3:02 to play.

Lopez had the answer as she took a pass from Vickery and drilled a big three-pointer near the top-of-the-key to even the score at 54 with two minutes to play. NMHU came back with two from the line to go back in front 56-54. WNMU had a chance to tie on the next series down the floor, but a missed shot was collected by NMHU and on the rebound, WNMU committed a foul. Already in the bonus, the Cowgirls went to the line and split two to take a 57-54 lead with 1:37 left to play.
 
The Lady Mustangs went for a quick two, but the shot in the pain was short and after McLaughlin tallied a steal, a missed three kept NMHU still with a three-point lead as WNMU had to foul following the defensive rebound. NMHU hit two more from the line to boost the lead to 59-54 with 38 seconds to play.

The game was far from over, with Lopez drawing a foul and she then sunk two from the line to get the deficit back to three with 32 seconds left. On the ensuing in-bounds pass, WNMU brought the pressure and a deep pass to midcourt was stolen away by McLaughlin to give WNMU a chance to tie. A missed three with 12 seconds left, was rebounded by Lopez on a jump ball. On the next in-bounds, WNMU had a tough time getting a good look and with time ticking down, Brown tried a shot just inside the three-point line and was fouled with two seconds left.

The foul shots just missed and NMHU claimed the rebound to end the game as George hit one of two and with just a second left, time expired with the Cowgirls taking the 60-56 victory.

WNMU made 19-62 (31) from the field, 6-27 (22) from three and 12-17 (71) from the foul line. NMHU countered making 19-50 (38) from the field, 6-16 (38) from three and 16-25 (64) at the foul line.

Vickery led three Lady Mustangs in double-figures with 15 points. She also had six rebounds and four assists. Lopez tallied 12 points and McLaughlin had 10 points, four rebounds and five steals. Looney led the team in rebounds with seven.

Savannah Madrid-Andrews led the way for the Cowgirls with 19 points, as she made 5-9 from three-point range. Baca added 18 points and eight rebounds, while Brianna Stewart also reached double-figures with 10 points. Amari Terry dished out a team-best six assists, along with six points.

WNMU will now be off until Thursday, November 30 when they will open Lone Star Conference play against nationally-ranked West Texas A&M starting at 5:30 p.m.
 
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