Coug women still can't buy a 3

PROVO -- The past two seasons, the BYU women's basketball team ran a high-octane offense that dismantled many a zone defense. But these days, opponents pack it in inside, show little respect for the outside shot and dare the Cougars to fire away.

And the Cougars continue to oblige - and struggle, as evidenced Thursday night by their 58-52 loss to New Mexico at the Marriott Center.

The loss propels BYU (10-6, 0-3) deeper in the Mountain West Conference cellar.

"We've got a zone offense that everybody in the world wanted," said BYU coach Jeff Judkins, " . . . and now I've got a team that can't run it or execute it or hit any shots."

BYU held enough key advantages for a potential victory - 21-10 in turnovers and 28-18 in points in the paint. It also held UNM to only 14 field goals and 29.8 percent shooting.

But the Cougars were outrebounded 50-30 (including 17 UNM offensive boards), sent the Lobos to the line 33 times and shot a paltry 2-of-22 3-pointers - the two makes coming in the game's final minute.

"When we don't hit shots, we don't get tougher on the other end - we reach, we grab, we hold," Judkins said, adding, "I can't make shots or box out - eventually they'll have to do it themselves."

Sophomore Ambrosia Anderson was the only Cougar in double figures with 13 points, but her 5-of-16 shooting reflected the team's struggle to manage 33.3 percent. Danielle Cheesman and Julie Sullivan added eight points each.

Mandi Moore's 17 points led UNM (10-5, 2-0), with Melissa Forest adding 12 and Lindsey Arndt 10 for the Lobos.

Despite first-half failings of being outrebounded 31-13 and shooting 25.8 percent, the Cougars only trailed 22-18 just before intermission. But the Lobos scored the final five points to end the half and matched it with a five-point start to begin the second for a 32-18 lead.

A subsequent 11-2 BYU run - including three Anderson hoops - brought the Cougars to within five at 36-31 midway in the second and drew them to three three-point margins over the next five minutes.

A 6-0 surge gave the Lobos a 50-41 lead with 4:01 left, and the Cougars still trailed 52.44 three minutes later.

Treys by Kali Taylor and Anderson drew BYU to 53-50 with 0:23 to play and a layin by Sullivan 55-52 with 0:17 left. But the Lobos needed to make only eight of 13 free throws in final four minutes to preserve the win.

GAME NOTES: Next up for BYU, a 4 p.m. home game against Air Force, which is also winless in conference play . . . Much of the Marriott Center crowd of 2,421 was students lining up for the postgame distribution of tickets to the BYU-Utah men's game March 1 in Provo . . . BYU is 0-3 in league for the first time in nearly a decade - the last two times coming in the mid-1990s when the Cougars competed in the Western Athletic Conference.

E-mail: taylor@desnews.com

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