No. 18 New Mexico (13-4, 3-1) used a blistering second half to earn a 62-39 win over Wyoming (12-3, 2-2) in The Pit Saturday afternoon.
The Lobos looked rusty early on offense and led 23-21 at halftime.
New Mexico opened the second half with an 18-0 run. The Lobos' smothering man-to-man defense held the Cowgirls without a field until 11:31 remained in the second half.
"We were playing good defense in the first half but were kind of rushing our shots," junior point guard Katie Montgomery said. "In the second half we calmed down and ran our offense."
Lobos coach Don Flanagan said he didn't tell his team anything special at halftime, he just encouraged the team to relax on offense.
Sophomore forward Dionne Marsh avoided foul trouble that hounded her the past two games, finishing with a team-high 13 points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Brandi Kimble added 10 points, four rebounds and two assists, while senior guard Abbie Letz chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. Senior center Jana Francis ended the game with seven points and 10 rebounds.
Wyoming was led by guard Megan McGuffey, who finished with 15 points and accounted for 15 of the Cowgirls' 18 second-half points. Forward Michelle Taylor added 10 points, all in the first half.
New Mexico held Wyoming's Hanna Zavecz, who averaged 14.4 points per game, and teammate Jodi Bolerjack, who avearged 13.5 points, to seven combined points.
"It was a good defensive effort," Flanagan said. "Wyoming's a tough team that runs its offense very well, so this was a very good effort by our players."
Montgomery played 30 minutes in the game. She sprained her ankle during Wednesday's loss at TCU but still started against the Cowgirls. She said her ankle felt sore after the game but should be fine.
New Mexico has its first Wednesday of Mountain West Conference play off and is idle until it faces Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo., Friday.
For more women's basketball coverage, check out Monday's Tribune.

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