Lady Bulldogs' Season Ends With 73-61 Loss To New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- New Mexico center Jordan Adams posted up behind the 3-point line and launched a shot that seemed to have no chance.
The ball hit the front of the rim, bounced halfway up the backboard, came back down on the rim for another bounce, and then rolled gently into the net.
Adams' early 3-pointer Monday night was a huge clue that Mississippi State was in for a long night, and that New Mexico was headed for a momentous win.
Adams scored 19 points, and the sixth-seeded Lobos hit 13 3-pointers in a 73-61 win over third-seeded Mississippi State in the second round of the Midwest Regional.
It's the school's biggest victory ever in women's basketball and sends the Lobos (24-8) into the round of 16. But they're not going far.
New Mexico is hosting the first four rounds in the Midwest, so the Lobos will be home again when they play the winner of Tuesday night's Texas-Tech-UC-Santa Barbara game. Before its 91-85 overtime win over Miami on Saturday, New Mexico had never won a game in the NCAA tournament.
It's a sure thing that The Pit will be sold out again. New Mexico has now accomplished what the men's program has never been able to do -- win back-to-back games in the NCAA tournament.
"I've become a women's basketball fan," said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who watched the game from a prime seat near midcourt. "This is my sixth game, and I think I have more fun at women's basketball than at the men's games."
Jordan's unlikely 3-pointer three minutes into the game was the Lobos' fourth, and by then the Lady Bulldogs (24-8) were looking more like underdogs.
"They came out ready to play," MSU guard Tan White said. "Every time we'd come back, they'd hit another 3."
New Mexico stunned Mississippi State early by hitting its first six 3-pointers. New Mexico, playing on its home court before a sellout crowd of 16,214, hit nine 3s in the first half.
"If you can get the 3s going, it opens up the inside," said Mandi Moore, who made five 3-pointers and now has nine for the tournament. "You could see we were much more relaxed."
New Mexico had trouble scoring early against Miami, but this time the Lobos played like a team that could make a deep run in the tournament.
"We scored early and scored often," coach Don Flanagan said. "We weren't stopping them, but they certainly weren't stopping us, either."
Eight straight points by New Mexico, on a layup by Adams and back-to-back 3s by Moore and Lindsey Arndt, gave the Lobos a 36-22 lead with 4:54 left in the first half. Moore finished with 19 points, including five 3-pointers.
All-American LaToya Thomas scored 29 points and had 16 rebounds to lead the Lady Bulldogs, while White finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.
The two led the Lady Bulldogs on an 8-2 run early in the second half that cut the deficit to 43-38 with 16:54 left.
Adams halted the rally with a short jumper that kicked off a 16-5 run, putting away the Lady Bulldogs. Reserves Melissa Forest and Abbie Letz had 3-pointers in the run, the latter making it 59-43 with 11:44 left.
The 6-foot-3 Adams also had 10 rebounds and five blocks and became the school's all-time shot blocker for men's and women's basketball. Her total of 341 is five more than former New Mexico center Luc Longley.
Adams blocked the 6-foot-2 Thomas twice in the second half, the first one sending the ball five rows into the stands.
NEW MEXICO (24-8)
Grear 4-6 1-3 9, Arndt 3-5 0-0 9, J.Adams 8-15 2-5 19, Moore 6-10 2-3 19, Garcia 1-7 1-3 4, Letz 1-5 0-0 3, Francis 0-0 0-0 0, Scaglione 1-2 0-0 2, Forest 2-6 0-0 5, D.Adams 0-0 0-0 0, McLeod 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 27-57 6-14 73.
MISSISSIPPI STATE (24-8)
Thomas 11-29 4-6 29, Kates 1-8 0-0 3, Warren 3-6 0-1 6, Jones 0-3 0-0 0, White 7-22 1-3 17, Ferguson 0-0 0-0 0, McKinney 0-4 0-0 0, Anderson 2-5 0-1 4, Burton 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 25-82 5-11 61.
Halftime -- New Mexico 41-30. 3-Point goals -- New Mexico 13-30 (Moore 5-8, Arndt 3-4, McLeod 1-1, J.Adams 1-2, Forest 1-3, Letz 1-5, Garcia 1-6, Grear 0-1), Mississippi St. 6-22 (Thomas 3-5, White 2-8, Kates 1-5, Warren 0-1, Jones 0-1, McKinney 0-1, Burton 0-1). Fouled out -- None. Rebounds -- New Mexico 50 (J.Adams 10), Mississippi St. 50 (Thomas 16). Assists -- New Mexico 20 (J.Adams, Moore, Letz 4), Mississippi St. 13 (Warren 6). Total fouls -- New Mexico 16, Mississippi St. 16. A -- 16,214.