“They're
really good at jumping on you early,” said Senior Caroline Durbin.
“I think they did the same thing against Nevada yesterday. They did it by getting
out and running. They
have everyone sprinting the floor as hard as they can. That's tough to guard. And they find each
other really well.”
Coach
Yvonne Sanchez said the Aztecs keeping SDSU in check early was a
point of emphasis of the Lobos – one they were simply unable to
pull off.
“That's
the biggest thing we said, is they can't get loose early,” said
Sanchez. “They're notorious for doing that. They jumped on us right
away.”
UNM’s poor
shooting early was exacerbated by a UNM’s tentativeness on
offense, said Sanchez.
“We backed
down a little bit, were on our heels,” said Sanchez. “Those are
the things we talked about (coming into the game.) That's what
championship teams do, not necessarily on offense, they started it
with their defense. That's what they're known to do.”
New Mexico
was paced by Khajiijah Shumpert, who scored eight points and
Antiesha Brown, who added seven points and led the team with five
rebounds. Senior Caroline Durbin faced double teams for much of
the game and was limited to four points on 1-7 shooting.
SDSU
finished with three players in double figures and were paced by
guards Courtney Clements, who scored a game-high 15 points, and
Chelsea Hopkins’ double-double – 14 points and 14 rebounds.
The Lobos
trailed 29-13 at halftime but were able to make the game a little
more competitive in the early parts of the second half by keeping
SDSU in a half-court offensive set and keeping the Aztecs from
taking the same breakaway opportunities they had in the first
half.
But San Diego State eventually shook loose and was able to pus the lead up
to 21 points with 11:03 left in the game and would lead by 30
points before UNM finished the game with a Brea Mitchell lay up on
the game’s final play.
Sanchez
said she saw a few positives, including the relative equality in
rebounding numbers as well as fewer turnovers by her team.
“We've had
29 turnovers against them (this season,” said Sanchez. “So they're
a very good defensive team. Again, you have to credit
San Diego State and their defense and their schemes. It's nothing that you
don't know. But once
you still get into it, it's easier said than done.
“Play with poise. Play with heart. I think our kids did
that. But we had to
attack the basket early and take it at 'em. And we just didn't do
that.“
The loss
likely ended the Lobos season, which saw the team finish with a
17-14 record and an 8-8 mark in MWC play.