By Iliana Limon
ilimon abqtrib.com / 823-3632
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- It was a critical Mountain West Conference game.
The problem for No. 16 New Mexico (16-6, 6-3) is Utah (15-5, 6-3) was the only team playing like it.
Utah emerged with a 75-62 win, ending the Lobos six-game winning streak over the Utes.
"I thought throughout the game, they were more determined," Lobos coach Don Flanagan said. "... We just did not play smart and we did not play tough."
Utes' senior guard Shona Thorburn scored a season-high 28 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists in 40 minutes.
The Lobos contained fellow all-conference Ute Kim Smith's scoring in check for much of the game, but she still managed a double-with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
"We made a bunch of little mistakes we don't normally make and it really hurt us," Lobos junior point guard Katie Montgomery said.
The Lobos avoided a major first-half deficit and traded buckets with the Utes. They trailed Utah 33-30 at the half.
Utah jumped ahead 41-34 to open the second half, but New Mexico clawed its way back thanks to steady scoring by sophomore forward Dionne Marsh.
The Lobos held a 52-51 lead with 7:26 remaining when the errors began piling up.
New Mexico didn't run its offense and rushed shots.
On defense, the Lobos gave up deep passes, failed to switch on the perimeter and helped the Utes out of tough situations.
Smith struggled on offense but grabbed three straight offensive rebounds from the 7:28 mark to the 6:40 mark, giving the Utes' valuable momentum.
Utah outrebounded the Lobos 42 to 28 and grabbed 13 offensive boards to New Mexico's seven.
"That's all hustle," Flanagan said.
Smith had the ball in the low post with the shot clock winding down and had given up her dribble. The Lobos had her double-teamed, but Marsh backed off to guard another player and Smith scored an easy layup.
Marsh also fouled Utes' guard Julie Larsen on a 3-pointer. Larsen missed the shot but converted all three freethrows to give the Utes a 69-62 lead with 1:36 remaining.
New Mexico's offense went into panic mode, with the Lobos rushing shots and putting up two airballs from 3-point range.
Marsh led the Lobos with 19 points, five assists, four rebounds and a block. Montgomery added 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals and one assist.
Sophomore guard Lindsay Black started her first game of the season in place of center Jana Francis. She finished with eight points and one assist.
Flanagan said he opted to go with Black and a smaller lineup to better contend with Smith, a forward who prefers to play on the perimeter.
Black hounded Smith much of the game and came up with several defensive stops. Smith was stuck at seven points until the 5:29 mark in the second half.
Black finished with eight points and one assist in 19 minutes of play.
New Mexico faces Colorado State in The Pit at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Despite the painful foot injury, Montgomery said she expects to play against the Rams.

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