NMSU Women Drop Home Opener to Idaho State
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (Nov. 14) – The New Mexico State women’s basketball team dropped its home opener to Idaho State 59-42 inside the Pan American Center Monday night.
Senior forward Tabytha Wampler led the Aggies with her 11th career double-double consisting of 16 points and 16 rebounds. Junior forward Chrissy Fletcher and freshman guard Hannah Womack each added six points for NM State.
NM State struggled from the field against the Bengals, shooting just 25.5 percent from the floor while Idaho State made 36.5 percent of its shots. NM State won the battle of the boards 46-42. NM State also made it to the line more, making 13-of-18 to ISU’s mark of 9-of-15. One of the game’s key stats was turnovers. NM State committed 21 miscues and forced ISU into 16 turnovers. However, the Bengals outscored the Aggies 18-5 in points off turnovers.
NM State falls to 1-1 on the season after the loss while Idaho State improves to 1-1 this year with the victory.
Idaho State opened the scoring but NM State forwards Wampler and Fletcher each scored a bucket underneath to give NM State its first lead of the game. The Bengals tied it up but Wampler hit a three to put the Aggies up 7-4 at the 16-minute mark.
NM State maintained a one-score lead over ISU for the next 2:45 but the Bengals went on a 6-2 run to lead 10-9 with 13:16 before halftime. The lead changed twice over the next two minutes as ISU pushed ahead 14-11 at the midway point of the half and would stay ahead of NM State the rest of the way.
Both teams went ice cold from the field as neither team scored for the next four minutes. Idaho State broke the ice with a three-pointer to go up 17-11.
ISU sophomore guard Lindsey Reed caught fire from the floor scoring her first bucket, a three, at the 6:15 mark and then continued with nine more consecutive points on offense to post 11 points in just under three minutes. The Bengals built a 12-point lead of 27-15 – its largest of the half – with three minutes remaining in the first.
Aggie freshman guard Keyora Wharry hit a jumper from inside the lane with three seconds left before the break to cut the ISU lead to 10, 29-19, heading into the locker rooms.
NM State turned the ball over 12 times leading to 14 Idaho State points before the break. The Aggies forced 10 Bengal miscues but could not convert any points in the half. NM State shot 26.9 percent from the field in the first half while ISU made 43.3 percent of their shots. The Aggies out-rebounded the Bengals 19-18 in the first 20 minutes. The Aggies’ perimeter defense held ISU to 2-of-10 shooting from long range. NM State canned 1-of-6 attempts from behind the arc.
Reed continued to pace the Bengal offense early in the second half, scoring four of Idaho State’s six points. After a 5-0 run, ISU built a 13-point lead at the 14:48 mark of the half to lead 36-23.
NM State responded with a 6-2 run to cut the lead to nine, 38-29, with 10:35 remaining but would not get any closer. Idaho State kept the Aggies at bay the rest of the way for the double-digit victory.
Reed led ISU with a game-high 23 points, while sophomore forward Cydney Horton led the Bengals with 10 rebounds.
NM State hosts UTEP for its 500th contest all-time in the Pan American Center on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m. MT. The game marks the first of home-and-home contests in the 2011-12 SONIC® ® America’s Drive-In® Battle of I-10.
Source: NMSU Athletics
