By Ernie Gonzalez (@superego1012):
It’s a short stay in Las Vegas for San Jose State women’s basketball as the University of New Mexico’s dominant inside presence plagued SJSU all night in an 84-54 loss.
The Spartans, who finished the regular season with four conference wins and and 7-22 overall entered the tournament as the last seed and showed it.
A shameful 27 percent shooting performance kept the Spartans in the mud while the Lobos (23-9, 11-8 MW) had minimal trouble finding their rhythm as they shot 41 percent on the night.
“We couldn’t take advantage of the first and third quarter when they didn’t shoot as well,” said fifth-year head coach Jamie Craighead to SJSU Athletics after the game. “The more experienced team won.”
New Mexico’s size harmed the Spartans from start to finish as the Lobos got things going with a 12-2 run four minutes into the game.
The Spartans got as close as 14-10 thanks to threes off the bench from freshman guard Danae Marquez and Sophomore guard Analyss Benally.
The Lobos closed out the rest of the first frame and the second quarter and took a 47-26 lead into the locker room.
The 21-point lead at the break was in large part thanks to paint points and second-chance points.
The Lobos controlled the paint outscoring the Spartans 49-28 in that category. UNM also took advantage of second chance buckets, topping SJSU 21-10 in that department.
Jaisa Nunn, who loved playing against the Spartans during the regular season and averaged 30.5 points and 10.5 rebounds, played so well in the first half, she was not needed in the final 16 minutes of the game.
Nunn finished with 19 points and nine boards on the night.
As for the Spartans, senior Myzhanique Ladd gave it her all in her final game of her collegiate career. She had 19 points (9-12 FT) and yanked three rebounds in the loss.
Other than Ladd, no other Spartan finished in double figures. Guards Taylor Turney, Megan Anderson and Marquez as well as forward Mikaylah Wilson each had six.
New Mexico will move on in the Mountain West Tournament and play Wyoming Tuesday night.
