Box Score GUNNISON, Colo. – The Cowgirls trailed only 2:19 in the game as the New Mexico Highlands women's basketball team (11-12, 7-12 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) raced out to an 18-point second half lead and knocked off Western State (5-19, 5-14) 67-53 Saturday night (Feb. 15).
Down 14-13 halfway through the first half, junior
Katie Gannon hit a triple from freshman
Giulia Simioni to give the Cowgirls the lead. Western State answered with a layup, but
China Smith came down and hit a pair of free throws for Highlands. Junior
Claudia Menses made a layup before Simioni came up with the steal and hit Smith for the fast break layup.
For the game, Smith narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine boards.
Up 24-19, fastbreak layups by Simioni and junior
Anngelina Sanchez quickly pushed the lead out to nine. Western State trailed 30-23 with two minutes left when Cara Walderman hit a triple and Jade McIntosh – who led Western State with 16 points – made a layup off of a Cowgirls miscue.
Both teams traded turnovers before Meneses was fouled on an offensive rebound. She made both free throws as Highlands led 32-28 into the locker room.
While the Mountaineers claimed a 38-33 edge on the boards in the game, the Cowgirls turned 21 turnovers into 25 points. Western State only managed 10 points off of 12 Highlands' turnovers.
Highlands led 34-30 in the second half when junior
Jenny Johnson, who came off the bench for a career-high 25 points, hit a three and extended the lead. A three by sophomore
Leisha Crawford later in the half gave the Cowgirls a 44-34 edge.
New Mexico Highlands hit only 26.1 percent (6-23) for the game, but hit 50 percent (4-8) in the second half. Western State was held to only 1-5 (20 percent) for the game.
The Cowgirls was around a 10-point lead most of the second half before an 8-1 run sealed the victory. Up 59-48, Johnson drained a triple. Junior
Trish Simpson hit a pair from the line before Western State split from the charity stripe. Smith than split from the line before a defensive stop and a pair of free throws put Highlands up 67-49, its largest lead of the game, with a minute remaining.
The Cowgirls closed out the 14-point win.
New Mexico Highlands returns to action next Friday (Feb. 21) when it hosts Colorado School of Mines at 6 p.m.
