Around the MWC women’s basketball

Utah remains on top in the conference standings and is one win

away from clinching the regular season conference title. New Mexico

and CSU are the hottest teams in the conference as both have

four-game winning streaks. Their streaks coupled with UNLV’s recent

slump (two losses in four games) have made the race for second a

close one. Here’s a recap on last week’s action and a preview of

what’s to come: (Note: The team’s accompanying number represents

its place in the Mountain West standings)

No. 1 Utah vs. No. 8 Air Force

Despite an air attack by the Falcons (3-20 in the MWC, 0-10

overall), Utah (20-5, 10-1) continued its dominance over Air Force

in a 73-65 loss. The Utes have never lost to the Falcons in

conference history, and Air Force is still looking for its first

conference win of the season.

Letricia Castillo led the Falcons with 14 points. Amoy Jackson

had 10 points and eight rebounds. Carley Marshall led all scorers

with 21 points from Utah and teammate Kim Smith had 14 points.

 

UP NEXT:

The Falcons make their final regular season road trip to San

Diego State on Thursday, while Utah will battle BYU on Saturday at

3 p.m.

No. 2 New Mexico at No. 6 Brigham Young

New Mexico (16-7, 8-2) squeaked by BYU 60-59 in Provo, Utah, on

Saturday. The win is the fourth straight for the Lobos, and the

loss drops BYU to 14-11, 4-7.

The Lobos got off to a strong start taking a 25-14 lead, but the

Cougars rallied back and went into the locker room up 34-31.

The two teams traded blows throughout an entertaining second

half, which featured eight lead changes and seven ties. Mandi Moore

scored three points in the final minute, including a free throw

with 19.6 seconds left in the game, to help New Mexico secure the

win.

Lindsey Ardnt led New Mexico with 16 points and eight rebounds

and was named co-MWC athlete of the week.

UP NEXT:

New Mexico heads to UNLV this Thursday, and the Cougars will

continue MWC action on the road next week, playing at in-state

rival Utah on Saturday.

No. 3 UNLV at No. 4 Colorado State

Colorado State (6-5, 15-9) pulled off an upset against UNLV

(7-3, 18-5) Saturday night in Moby arena. UNLV trailed the Rams

40-22 at the half and managed to cut the deficit to nine with four

minutes left to play, but the Rams couldn’t be stopped.

Randee Henry ended the contest with 16 points and seven

rebounds, while Sheena Moore added 15 points and Sherry McCracklin

finished with nine points and seven rebounds for the Rebels.

Vanessa Espinoza led the Rams with a career-high 22 points and

was named co-MWC athlete of the week.

UP NEXT:

The Rebels will return to Las Vegas to face New Mexico on

Thursday night and CSU will play its final home game Friday night

against Wyoming.

No. 5 Wyoming vs. No. 7 San Diego State

The Cowgirls (5-6, 9-15) dominated the Aztecs with a 71-46

performance Saturday afternoon in Laramie, Wyo. SDSU didn’t break

into double-digits until the 5:52 mark in the first half. Despite

the 39-22 deficit the Aztecs charged from the locker room with a

10-6 run. But the Cowgirls kept their composure and won big.

“We’ve had a tough stretch here recently because it’s a battle

every night,” said Wyoming head coach Joe Legerski in a postgame

press conference.

Ashley Elliot finished the game with 28 points, and Brenda

Pickup, in her final home game had 15 points, all in the second

half. Candace Mattson led SDSU with a career-high 14 points and six

rebounds off the bench.

UP NEXT:

The Cowgirls will go on the road to face the Rams on Friday at

7:00 p.m., and San Diego State will head home to play Air Force at

7 p.m. on Thursday.