It’s team’s second 1-point loss in a row

You had to know it would haunt them eventually.

The University of New Mexico Lobos almost pulled off a terrific come-from-behind win over Fresno State at the Pit on Wednesday.

It was a matter of inches as Caroline Durbin’s 3-point shot rattled around the rim and out with 1.5 seconds left, allowing the Bulldogs to escape with a 51-50 victory.

	Saturday New Mexico at Boise State, 2 p.m.; 610 AM

The Lobos rallied from 13 points down after a sloppy first half and five times took narrow leads in the final 12 minutes. They also executed brilliantly in the final 50 seconds, pulling within a point on Sara Halasz’s driving layup and forcing a shot-clock violation to get the ball back with 12 seconds left.

The Lobos (12-11, 4-6 Mountain West) followed with an effective play, getting the ball to an open Durbin on the wing. Her shot was right on line.

“Yeah, I’ll take that shot anytime,” Durbin said. “I thought it was going in.”

But all the good UNM did was undone at the free-throw line.

Each team attempted 11 foul shots: Fresno made nine, New Mexico made two.

Proud as she was of her team’s effort against the Mountain West Conference’s second-place Bulldogs (16-7, 8-2), Lobos coach Yvonne Sanchez made no excuses for UNM’s free-throw shooting. The Lobos rank last in the MWC in that department.

“That’s what lost us the ballgame,” Sanchez said shaking her head. “I’ve never been around a basketball team that shot free throws so poorly in games.

“We went 2 for 11 and lost by one point. You can’t spell it out any better than that.”

The awful foul shooting undermined one of the Lobos’ best defensive outings of the season. Fresno State came in averaging 69 points and eight made 3-pointers per game, but made just four 3′s and turned the ball over 21 times Wednesday.

“Defensively, that’s about as good as we’ve played,” Sanchez said.

After being out-rebounded 17-9 in the first half, UNM also finished with a 30-29 edge on the boards. Still, the Lobos couldn’t muster many big smiles after their second one-point loss in a row. UNLV edged UNM 58-57 on Saturday.

“We play to win,” freshman post Whitney Johnson said. “A one-point loss, that’s one play. We’re feeling more than a little snakebit.”

Durbin, who paced the Lobos with 13 points and four assists, agreed.

“It’s a terrible feeling,” she said. “At home with our crowd and the momentum, it’s really hard to take.”

Despite solid defense, New Mexico had precious little momentum in the first half. After taking an 8-7 lead on a Durbin jumper, the Lobos were outscored 12-0 over the next 4:24 and, at that juncture, had more turnovers than points.

Fresno stretched its lead to 24-11 on a Bree Farley layup and it appeared the 6,268 Pit fans might be in for a long night.

But the Lobos trimmed the deficit to 24-16 by intermission, twice forcing the Bulldogs into shot-clock violations.

“We didn’t play well at all offensively in the first half,” Sanchez said, “but I still felt good (at halftime). We had 11 turnovers and were only down eight. I really thought we could get right back in it.”

UNM did just that. Johnson and Deeva Vaughn scored six points inside, and Bryce Owens drained a 3-pointer during a 17-7 run to start the second half. For the second straight game, the Lobos scored 38 points in the paint. Johnson and Vaughn contributed eight apiece.

The lead changed hands nine times down the stretch before an Owens drive to the basket tied the score at 48 with 1:44 left.

But Fresno State converted when it counted, beating UNM’s zone defense with a Farley cut to the basket. She hit a layup while colliding with Halasz, who was called for a foul. Farley’s free throw made it 51-48 with 50 seconds left.

“Sara got there late,” Sanchez said, “but Fresno just ran a good play.”

Ki-Ki Moore scored 15 points to pace the Bulldogs, who also got eight points and 10 rebounds from Alex Sheedy. Halasz had seven points, two assists and three steals for the Lobos but was 1 for 6 from the foul line.
FRESNO STATE 51, NEW MEXICO 50 FG FT RebFRESNO Min M-A M-A O-T A F PtsSheedy 28 4-9 0-0 0-10 2 4 8Moult 25 2-6 2-2 0-2 0 3 8Farley 34 2-3 4-5 1-3 1 0 8Moore 33 6-10 3-4 1-4 7 4 15Thompson 38 2-9 0-0 1-1 4 0 5Fox 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0Vandenberg 16 2-3 0-0 1-4 0 3 4Furst 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Draper 19 1-3 0-0 1-1 1 0 3Totals 200 19-44 9-11 5-25 15 15 51Percentages: FG .432, FT .818.3-Point Goals: 4-14, .286 (Moult 2-4, Thompson 1-2, Draper 1-2, Farley 0-1, Furst 0-1, Moore 0-2).Team Rebounds: 4. Team Turnovers: 3.Blocked Shots: 1 (Vandenberg).Turnovers: 18 (Moore 7, Thompson 3, Farley 2, Fox 2, Draper 2, Moult, Vandenberg).Steals: 14 (Thompson 4, Sheedy 3, Draper 3, Moult 2, Farly, Moore). FG FT RebUNM Min M-A M-A O-T A F PtsVaughn 29 4-11 0-0 6-7 1 2 8Johnson 21 4-6 0-0 1-2 1 0 8Owens 32 3-8 0-0 0-5 0 0 7Halasz 30 3-5 1-6 1-2 2 2 7Durbin 33 6-14 0-0 0-3 4 1 13Shumpert 8 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0Erskine 20 1-2 0-2 3-5 1 1 2Brown 16 1-4 1-2 0-2 0 2 3Jackson 9 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 2Nnaji 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Totals 200 23-53 2-11 11-15 11 9 50Percentages: FG .434, FT .182.3-Point Goals: 2-11, .182 (Halasz 1-6, Brown 1-2, Jackson 0-1, Erskine 0-2).Team Rebounds: 4.Blocked Shots: 2 (Vaughn, Durbin).Turnovers: 17 (Owens 4, Durbin 3, Brown 3, Halasz 2, Jackson 2, Vaughn, Johnson, Erskine).Steals: 12 (Owens 3, Halasz 3, Johnson 2, Vaughn, Shumpert, Erskine, Jackson).Fresno State 24 27-51New Mexico 16 34-50A-6,268.Lobos lose a heartbreakerIt’s team’s second 1-point loss in a rowSee UNM on PAGE D2UNM loses heartbreakerfrom PAGE D1JIM THOMPSON/JOURNALFresno State’s Taylor Thompson (33) looks to pass as UNM’s Deeva Vaughn (44) and Bryce Owens (12) guard her.SaturdayNew Mexico at Boise State, 2 p.m.; 610 AM

FRESNO STATE 51, NEW MEXICO 50
— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal