Silver City, NM – The Northern New Mexico Eagles went head to head against the Western New Mexico Mustangs. WNMU took the victory 80-72.
Four mustangs shot is double figures today against the eagles including
Sydney Wright (Houston, Texas/Henley High School) (16 points),
Eliza Joynes (Adelaide, South Australia/Henley Sports Academy) (14 points),
Larissa Laborin (Las Cruces, New Mexico/Centennial High School) (13 points), and
Diamond Moore (Colorado Springs, CO/Harrison High School) (12 points).
Both Moore and Joynes combined for 22 grabbed boards to help with the win against NNMC. Joynes also led the team in blocks, coming off the floor with 4 of her own.
Once again, the mustangs did not perform well at the line, only knocking down 19 out of their 33 attempts while the eagles outscored them at the stripe by 25% in the process.
WNMU would start the game hot on a 10-0 run, but quickly give up the stretched out lead through the rest of the first quarter.
Although the point differential in the 2
nd quarter was marginally smaller, the Mustangs held NNMC to just 10 points and took their double figure lead back.
NNMC would slowly crawl their way back into the game during the 2
nd half of play, outscoring the Mustangs in the third quarter with some critical shots from deep along with 25 turnovers from the mustangs.
Although the eagles cut their deficit to just 5 points with 4 minutes left to play, it was not enough to defeat the Mustangs with a deep three dagger from Laborin in the final minute.
After wrapping up another win for the season, Head coach Pace stated, "[we] are very proud of the team today. We have done a good job of protecting homecourt. Have some things to work on, but we are happy with the win."
The Mustangs have finished competition for the 2023 year and will look to continue conference play in San Angelo, TX on Jan. 4 against Angelo State.
This game recap is presented by First American Bank. First American Bank is a proud supporter of WNMU Athletics!
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Western New Mexico University is a member of the NCAA Division II, and the Lone Star Conference (LSC). For additional information regarding Mustang Athletics, visit www.wnmumustangs.com; visit wnmu.edu for more information about Western New Mexico University. Follow the Mustangs on social media: @WNMUathletics (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok & Instagram)
