LAS VEGAS — Mandi Moore took on the role of scorer in the first half of the Lobos 54-49 first round victory over San Diego State University Wednesday.
The sophomore point guard, who more often than not leads in intangible statistics like diving for loose balls, scored 11 first half points en route to a 34-22 first period lead.
“You have to do things in order to win and if that was my role today then I’ll do that,” Moore said. “If not then I’ll give it to Jordan (Adams) or whoever else is hitting the shots. Today it was falling for me so I went ahead and took my shots.”
With the Lobos down 6-1 early in the half, Moore nailed a 3-pointer from the wing and was fouled. She connected from the line, cutting the lead to one and ended an offensive stall. UNM used balanced scoring in the first period with seven players getting on the board. Senior guard Cristal Garcia was the second-leading scorer on the team with six at the half.
The start of the second half belonged to the seventh-seeded Aztecs. They went on an 11-0 run to start the period and cut the lead all the way down to one, 34-33, after SDSU freshman sensation Ashlee Dunlap connected from inside.
“They were hitting their shots and we weren’t hitting ours,” head coach Don Flanagan said. “It’s a matter of execution. I think he (SDSU head coach Jim Tomey) did a better job than I did because they came out and hit a lot of shots in the second half.”
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The Lobos eventually regained their composure. After a four-minute plus scoring drought to start the second half, the team settled into a rhythm. Moore broke the run by nailing a three that put UNM up four, 37-33. Adams made two free throws on the Lobos’ next possession and from then on the Aztecs never got within four points.
“I like the fact that we calmed down and got it back together again,” Flanagan said.
UNM was cheered on by an overwhelming crowd that easily drowned out the few SDSU fans in attendance. Though many expected the Lobos to blowout the Aztecs as they had in their two previous meetings, it was a close game throughout. Flanagan said that could be attributed to the fact that these teams have played several times.
Senior forward Chelsea Grear was huge for UNM, pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds, with six of them coming off the offensive glass. Grear also added eight points, all of which came in the second half.
Freshman guard Abbie Letz came off the bench to hit two big threes and finished with eight points. Adams was held to seven points but contributed mostly on defense with a Mountain West Conference Tournament single-game record five blocks.
Dunlap and senior forward Ashonda Williams, who scored 11 and 18 points respectively, led the Aztecs’ attack.
Both teams shot under 40 percent for the game, including a dismal 16 percent for SDSU in the second half. UNM was not much better, shooting only 28 percent in the second frame.
With the win, the Lobos move to the second round to take on the third-seeded Colorado State Rams who defeated the Wyoming Cowgirls 59-56. CSU’s Joy Jenkins was fouled behind the arc with 5.6 seconds remaining in the game. She converted the free throws and Wyoming failed to answer.
UNM and CSU take the court at 2:30 p.m. Friday for the semifinal showdown.
