Staff Report
The UNM women’s basketball team scored a key victory Saturday — defeating the San Diego State Aztecs 64-46 in Cox Arena.
The Lobos improved to 17-8 overall and 7-5 in the Mountain West Conference. They also moved into a tie with BYU and UNLV for second place in the conference.
After a shocking loss to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas on Thursday, UNM needed a confidence booster in preparation for crucial games against BYU and league-leader Utah later this week.
Senior center Jordan Adams led the Lobos against SDSU with 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Adams scored 12 of her 18 points in the first half, including six straight points on a 10-0 UNM run that put the Lobos up 22-10 early in the game. Adams scored another six points at the end of the half, giving UNM a 17-point cushion, 37-20 at the break.
In the second half, senior forward Chelsea Grear came out on fire, scoring the first seven points for the Lobos. Grear single-handedly extended UNM’s advantage to 19, and set the score at 44-25.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The Lobos breezed through the rest of the game despite a career-high performance from the Aztec’s Ashonda Williams, who scored 19 points on the night. Overall, SDSU made only 29 percent of its shots.
UNM shot 49 percent and connected on five-of-15 from behind the 3-point line.
Grear contributed 13 points in the game while fellow senior Cristal Garcia added 10. Sophomore point guard Mandi Moore dropped in eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
UNM welcomes BYU on Thursday and Utah on Saturday for its regular season finale. Although the Lobos lost to both teams on the road earlier this season, the Cougars and the Utes will need to play their best to beat UNM in The Pit.
The Lobos have lost only one game at home this season, to sixth-ranked Louisiana Tech University.
