Box Score GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Cowgirls junior
Claudia Meneses scored the opening basket from beyond the arc off an offensive rebound, but a 12-2 run by the home team gave the Mavericks a nine-point lead as New Mexico Highlands (10-12, 6-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) fell to #2 Colorado Mesa (22-0, 18-0 RMAC) 71-52 Friday night (Feb. 14).
After Meneses scored the opening bucket, Aubry Boehme recorded a pair of lay-ups to give the Mavericks the lead. Freshman
Jacinda Woodruff gave the Cowgirls its final lead of the game on a jumper with 18 minutes left in the first, but Colorado Mesa went on a 12-2 run to give the home team the lead for good. Sharaya Selsor – who scored a game-high 29 points for the Mavericks – scored eight of the 12 points.
The Mavericks led by nine right before half before junior
Jenny Johnson hit a triple right to beat the buzzer and make the score 35-29 at intermission.
It was a balanced scoring effort for Highlands as four players scored eight or more points. Freshman
Giulia Simioni came off the bench for 10 points. Meneses added eight points and a game-best seven boards. Senior
Brittany Neeley and Johnson both added eight.
Both teams went back and forth in the second half's opening minutes, but six unanswered pushed the deficit to double-digits for good. Selsor hit four-straight free throws and a lay-up by Hannah Bowden made the game 47-33 with 11 minutes left.
Colorado Mesa took advantage of foul trouble by senior
China Smith, outscoring the Cowgirls 30-16 in the paint.
The Cowgirls return to action tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. against Western State. The Mountaineers claimed a 55-53 win in early January in Las Vegas, N.M., overcoming a 17-point second half deficit.
