Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.
Also See: Rich Chavez's Photo Gallery
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State women's basketball team pulled away midway through the second half behind the sharp shooting of junior guards Jasmine Lowe and Danisha Corbett in an 85-76 defeat of Boise State at the Pan American Center Saturday afternoon.
Lowe led the Aggies with 23 points including 14 in the second half. Corbett scored 18 for NM State. Corbett knocked down a pair of threes on consecutive possessions in the second half to give the Aggies the lead for good at 66-61 with 7:38 remaining and secure the season sweep of the Broncos.
NM State improves to 15-8 overall and 5-4 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) with the victory. Boise State drops to 14-9 and 3-6 in the WAC after the defeat.
"Anytime you can get a win against an experienced team like Boise State you'll take it," said head coach Darin Spence. "We did a lot of good things tonight. Corbett came in off the bench again for us tonight and I think that frees her up a little bit. She stepped up and made some big shots for us. I'm really pleased for her and proud of her tonight. "
NM State shot 46 percent from the field while holding Boise State below 39 percent. The Aggies forced 18 Bronco turnovers in the game, scoring 16 points off the miscues. But the Aggie bench made the biggest difference in the game, led by Corbett's 18 points, NM State outscored BSU's reserves 27-11.
NM State opened the game scoring seven of the first nine points, kicked off by a three-point basket by Lowe. The five-point margin held up as the Aggies' largest lead of a tight first half. Boise State answered with a 10-6 rally to cut the NM State lead to 13-12 with 12 minutes remaining in the half.
Neither team led by more than three over the next eight minutes of the stanza. BSU went on a 6-0 spurt at the six-minute mark to take its largest lead of the half at four, 31-27. Soon after, the Aggies regained the lead after 6-0 run of their own. But it was the Broncos who led after 20 minutes 36-35.
The Aggie defense forced 10 BSU first-half turnovers. Both teams struggled from long range as NM State hit one of 13 behind the arc after Lowe's opening three while Boise State missed all six of their attempts. The Broncos made up the difference at the line hitting 10 of 14 foul shots compared to the Aggies three makes in five tries.
Both teams knocked down a pair of three-point jumpers to open the second half. Then the Broncos jumped out to a quick 10-point lead after a 14-2 run just two minutes into the half to take its largest lead of the game at 53-43. NM State head coach Darin Spence was issued a technical foul during the run at the 15:14 mark for arguing calls with the officials from the sidelines.
Sophomore Kelsie Rozendaal gave the Aggies some good minutes off the bench to spark NM State with her first career three-point bucket and a pair of free throws in eight minutes of play to help the home team close within five of BSU.
NM State continued to chip away at the BSU lead over the next several minutes as Corbett and Lowe took over the Aggie offense. Corbett knocked down a trey at the 11:55 mark closing the margin to four at 56-52. Lowe scored seven of the next eight points on offense for the Aggies to give NM State the advantage at 60-59 - its first lead since the 18:05 mark of the second half. After two free throw makes by the Broncos gave BSU a one-point lead, Corbett knocked down three-pointers on consecutive possessions for NM State to give the Aggies a 66-61 lead. NM State would never trail again, building its largest lead of nine with one minute left in regulation.
Boise State senior forward Melissa Rima recorded a career game against the Aggies with her second career double-double. Rima doubled her career high of 12 points set in Boise against the Aggies with a 24-point, 12-rebound performance this evening behind 16 made free throws on 19 attempts from the line. Senior guard Tasha Harris added 17 for the Broncos.
New Mexico State hits the road for a two-game road trip next week with games at Hawai'i Wed. Feb. 10 and at first-place Fresno State Sat. Feb. 13.
A live broadcast of each game can be heard across the state on the Aggie Sports Radio Network with Kyle Doperalski on KSNM-AM 570.
