Lauren Lenhardt scored 2 points to pace Boise State to a 65-46 win over New Mexico in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams last night in Taco Bell Arena. It was the 600th win for the Bronco program.
"That was one of the best games we played this year and it couldn't of come at a better time," said head coach Grdy Presnell. "I was really pleased with how the team came out and battled hard from the start. Lauren (Lenhardt) did a nice job for us, as did several others. It was a solid team effort in our first Mountain West game."
New Mexico came in leading the conference in defense, allowing opponents just 54.1 points a game but the Broncos clearly played their best game of the season. Kati Isham added 12 points for Boise State as the Broncos never trailed. Coach Presnell's team led at the half 35-27.
The Lady Broncos scored the first 10 points of the second half which, combined with the finish of the first half, completed an 18-4 Boise State run to give Boise State a 45-27 advantage. New Mexico could never get closer than 11 points the rest of the game.
Lenhardt finished the night with an outstanding nine-of-16 shooting performance with a six rebounds and two blocks. Isham added five rebounds, an assist and a steal to go with her 12 points. True freshman Keiahnna Engel contributed nine points, five rebounds, a career-high five steals and an assist.
Porche Torrance scored 11 of her team-high 17 points in the second half and also had a game-high 12 rebounds to lead New Mexico.
Boise State is 10-6 overall while New Mexico fell to 6-9. The Lady Broncos travel to Air Force (5-11, 0-1 in conference) Saturday afternoon. The Falcons fell to Colorado State yesterday 73-39.
Final Game Summary
New Mexico vs Boise State
01/11/12 7:06 pm at Boise, Idaho (Taco Bell Arena)
BOISE STATE 65, NEW MEXICO 46
NEW MEXICO (6-9, 0-1 MW)
TORRANCE, Porche 7-13 3-4 17; DURBIN, Caroline 6-16 0-2 13; JACKSON, Jayme 3-6 0-0 6; NELSON, Nikki 1-3 2-2 5; TAYLOR, Lauren 1-6 0-0 3; RHOADES, Ashley 1-2 0-0 2; STARK, Emily 0-2 0-0 0; PARKER, Jaime 0-0 0-0 0; NNAJI, Chinyere 0-2 0-0 0; MURAIDA, Maddie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-50 5-8 46.
BOISE STATE (10-6, 1-0 MW)
LENHARDT, Lauren 9-16 2-2 23; ISHAM, Kati 5-11 1-2 12; ENGEL, Keiahnna 4-12 1-2 9; POTEET, Kinzi 2-5 3-4 7; PILCHERMUNNS, Mandy 0-0 0-0 0; LEE, Diana 0-3 0-0 0; VANDIVER, Amber 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-70 8-12 65.
New Mexico.................... 27 19 - 46
Boise State................... 35 30 - 65
3-point goals--New Mexico 3-8 (TAYLOR, Lauren 1-2; DURBIN, Caroline 1-2; NELSON, Nikki 1-3; NNAJI, Chinyere 0-1), Boise State 5-14 (LENHARDT, Lauren 3-4; PILCHER, Heather 1-1; ISHAM, Kati 1-3; BRADY, Nicole 0-2; MARSHALL, Julia 0-1; LEE, Diana 0-2; ENGEL, Keiahnna 0-1). Fouled out--New Mexico-None, Boise State-None. Rebounds--New Mexico 35 (TORRANCE, Porche 12), Boise State 41 (BRADY, Nicole 7). Assists--New Mexico 8 (NELSON, Nikki 3), Boise State 8 (MARSHALL, Julia 4). Total fouls--New Mexico 16, Boise State 13. Technical fouls--New Mexico-None, Boise State-None. A-614
