Box Score The NMHU Women's Basketball team lost in their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference home opener to the Mountaineers of Western State College, by the final score of 66-49. The Cowgirls led for much of the first half, but the Mountaineers were able to take a six point lead into halftime. When the teams came out of the locker rooms, it was the Mountaineers who would take the early momentum and jump out to a 12 point lead. The Cowgirls managed to cut the lead down to four half way through the second half, but the Mountaineers took advantage of some Cowgirl mistakes to put the game out of reach. When the final buzzer sounded the Mountaineers had come away with the 17 point victory, by the final score of 66-49. With the loss the Cowgirls, led by Head Coach Tiffany Darling, drop to a 0-3 record in the RMAC and 4-3 in overall play.
Alyssa Lopez was once again the Cowgirls' leading scorer in the game. Lopez tied for the game scoring lead with 13 points in her 38 minutes on the court. She added six rebounds, one assist and a steal to her night's totals. Lopez was on fire in the first half, putting up 12 points, but the Mountaineers found a way to stop her in the second half of the game.
Whitley Coca had a decent night for the Cowgirls with 12 points. Coca played 36 minutes and added three assists, three rebounds and two steals to the Cowgirls' efforts. Her two three-point shots were the only ones the Cowgirls could sink in the game.
China Smith rounded out the Cowgirls' top scorers with nine points in the game. Smith also led all rebounders in the game, pulling down eight boards. She had an assist and shot a respectable 4-7 from the field for the Cowgirls
Both teams started out the game trying to get a feel for each other. The Cowgirls looked to be in control and had a four point lead with 14:06 left in the first half. The Mountaineers managed to keep pace, but the Cowgirls still held a five point lead with nine minutes left on the clock. Two free throw shots, with 5:26 left in the half, finally gave the Mountaineers the lead in the game, putting them up by two. The Cowgirls fought back and were able to tie the game up at 27 apiece, with only 2:26 remaining in the first half of play. The Mountaineers turned up the pressure and went on an 8-0 run, before
Whitley Coca hit a jump shot to drop their lead to six. When the buzzer ended the first half of play, the Mountaineers were in the lead with the score of 35-29.
The Mountaineers came out of the locker room looking to maintain control of the game. They went on a 6-0 run to start the half and held a 12 point lead with 18:16 remaining in the game. The Mountaineers managed to maintain their lead until the Cowgirls went on an 8-0 run to drop the lead down to four points with 9:51 left on the clock. The Mountaineers regained control of the game and slowly started to extend their lead thanks to some excellent free-throw shooting down the stretch. With only 2:12 remaining in the game the Mountaineers were still on top by 11 points, and they just slowed the pace of the game down. The Cowgirls were forced to try and run down the court and put some points on the board, but they were not able to make their shots count. When the final buzzer sounded the Mountaineers had come away with the victory, by the final score of 66-49.
The Cowgirls will continue conference action again tomorrow, 12/10, as they host the Mavericks of Colorad Mesa University at John A. Wilson Complex, in Las Vegas, N.M. The Mavericks currently ranked second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, with a 3-0 conference record and 5-2 in overall play. The game is scheduled for a 6 pm tip-off time, with the Cowboys taking to the court shortly after the completion of the women's game. If you can't make it out to the gym to watch your Cowgirls in action, you can click
HERE to watch the game LIVE on the America One network.
GO COWGIRLS!!!
