Box Score : Cumulative Stats

Albuquerque, New Mexico- The Utah Valley State women's basketball team knew it faced a tough task when they took on New Mexico Thursday night at The Pit, and the Lobos proved to be every bit as good as expected, beating the Wolverines 69-29 in front of 8,990 Lobo fans.

"There are really no tricks in the game of basketball," said Utah Valley State coach Cathy Nixon. "The teams that are good like New Mexico, just do little things we talk about every day and they do them better."

Katie Wilson had 11 points and five rebounds to lead the Wolverines in both categories.

"I thought Katie Wilson had a great defensive night. She just battled," said Nixon.

Julie Briody and Jana Francis both scored 12 to lead New Mexico.

The Wolverines held tough for parts of the first half, when a Wilson bucket brought Utah Valley within nine. But the Lobos hit six of their last eight shots to close out the first half on a 10-2 run and led 30-13 at the break.

New Mexico held the Wolverines to just 25% shooting in the first half (6-24). In the second half, Briody scored 10 quick points as New Mexico used a 15-7 run to put away the Wolverines.

New Mexico outscored Utah Valley 39-16 in the second half, while out-rebounding the Wolverines 19-8 in the half and 36-25 overall.

"I think we gave up an offensive rebound the first five possessions. And I think that's where the game is won most of the time," said Nixon. "It's hard to continually stop them over and over."

The Lobos, who boast the nation's top scoring defense, held Utah Valley to just 30% shooting while forcing 20 turnovers.

The mystique of The Pit and playing in front of a large crowd is something that coaching staff prepared the Wolverines for.

"I think it's great for the kids to come to an environment like this," said Nixon. "To see a town that supports women's basketball like they do. We
came here for a reason and that was to show our kids one of the best programs in the nation."

"I think it was exciting to come out and play in this arena," said Katie Wilson. "But I think once the game got going we settled down and we saw that it's just basketball."

Up next the Wolverines will have an extended break before traveling to Northern Colorado on February 29th.