No. 25 New Mexico (4-1) matched a scrappy Marist (0-4) team and emerged with a 61-54 win Friday night in the opening round of the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament.
The women's basketball team, however, suffered a harsh blow when senior guard Abbie Letz was poked in the eye with less than a minute remaining in the game.
She left The Pit with the help of her parents and was taken the hospital for tests.
Letz did not start the game because of a lingering back injury.
Her status is unknown for Saturday's game against Oklahoma State (1-1), which earned 69-68 win over Idaho (1-1) in a game played early Friday night.
New Mexico struggled on defense, especially in the low post, and but shot 48.6 from field goal range. The Lobos finsihed with 22 points in the paint, while the Red Foxes scored 24.
"It was almost like we were just trading baskets with them instead of playing defense," New Mexico coach Don Flanagan said.
The Lobos led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but Marist hit a late barrage of 3-pointers to cut the final gap to seven.
New Mexico senior center Jana Francis scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, sophomore forward Dionne Marsh scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds and sophomore guard Julie Briody finished with 10 points adn two rebounds.
Marist was led by senior center Fifi Camara, who finished with 18 points, five steals and three rebounds. Forward Sarah Smrdel and guard Kristen Vilardi added 10 points apiece.

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