By Iliana Limon
ilimon@abqtrib.com / 823-3632
PROVO, Utah -- It wasn't a night for the stars.
Sophomore forward Dionne Marsh dominated with 25 points, but the Lobos still couldn't slip past the upstart BYU.
Cougar Ambrosia Anderson, the Mountain West Conference's leading scorer, fouled out with 7:20 remaining but it didn't matter.
No. 19 BYU (18-1, 8-0) used balanced scoring to earn a 60-55 win over No. 16 New Mexico (16-5, 6-2). The Cougars now hold a commanding two-game lead in the conference race.
"They just came out and played harder the whole game," junior point guard Katie Montgomery said. "They put up the better effort and we made some mental mistakes that really cost us the game. I give them all the credit because they're a really good team this year."
The Lobos spent much of the game trying to dig out of a hole, falling behind by as much as 10 points. They didn't pick up their first bucket until junior point guard Katie Montgomery knocked down a 3-pointer with 13:24 left in the first half.
New Mexico took its first lead with 5:15 remaining in the game, pulling ahead 52-50 on layup by Marsh.
The Cougars called a timeout, and Marsh left the game for the next two minutes because she was bothered by lingering knee injury.
BYU seized the momentum, going on a 10-1 run to put the game out of reach. Guard Jennie Keele gave the Cougars the final push, scoring five the team's 10 final points.
"Jennie's a gamer," Cougars coach Jeff Judkins said. "I give a lot of credit to New Mexico's players, but she was absolutely determined to make sure we won this game. She was huge for us."
Flanagan said the Lobos had a shot at the win but didn't match BYU's intensity.
"We just didn't execute on offense," Lobos coach Don Flanagan said. "We had an opportunity, and we fought really hard for that opportunity, but we didn't do enough."
Marsh ended the game with a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds to go with her 25 points. No other Lobos scored in double figures, with Montgomery coming the closest by adding seven points.
New Mexico held Anderson to seven points, but guard Mallary Gillespie torched the Lobos from 3-point land in the first half and ended the game with 14 points.
Keele finished with 12 and forward Melinda Johnsen added 10 to pace the Cougars.
The Lobos shot 36.2 percent from the field, which Flanagan said wasn't enough to reasonably expect a win against hot-handed BYU.
The Cougars shot 46.2 percent from the field, hitting 51.9 percent in the first half alone.
Tight officiating had a major impact on post play, with Anderson and center Dani Kubik fouling out for BYU. New Mexico center Jana Francis was saddled with foul trouble much of the game and also fouled out.
New Mexico has no time to dwell on the loss.
The Lobos travel to Salt Lake City to take on Utah Saturday at 3 p.m.

For more women's basketball coverage, check out Friday's Tribune.

Posted by ilimon at 11:17 PM | Permalink