Montana State overcomes slow start to defeat New Mexico

MONTANA STATE 75, NEW MEXICO 57

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MX — After an action-packed day of women's basketball at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, one game remained and it was worth the wait. The night cap between the Montana State Bobcats (3-2) and New Mexico Lobos (4-1) saw a back-and-forth battle early on, with the Bobcats pulling away late, 75-57.

New Mexico junior Vianè Cumber opened the up the game by knocking down 5 three-pointers in the first quarter for the Lobos, but the Bobcats were able to overcome an early 10-point deficit and trim the lead to 23-20.

The resilience of the Bobcats carried over into the second quarter, as they outscored the Lobos 16-8, sending them to the locker room at halftime with momentum and a 36-31 lead.

Montana State's Lexi Deden led the charge with 9 points, 8 rebounds by halftime.  The senior forward had also tallied two blocks and two steals at the break.

Montana State, a perennial threat in the Big Sky Conference, was able to put more distance between themselves and the Lobos after a strong finish to the third behind a 17-8 effort in the quarter. The Bobcats led 53-39 and continued their hot shooting throughout the fourth quarter.

Cumber hit a career-high eight three-pointers for the Lobos, finishing with 24 points, to keep her team within striking distance late, but the Bobcats proved too much for UNM on Thursday night.

Deden put the finishing touches on the victory finishing the game with a 23 point, 14 rebound double-double. Isobel Bunyan added 14 points in the win for the Bobcats.

New Mexico continues play in the 2023 Cancun Challenge on Friday against Georgia Tech at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Bobcats will follow, matching up with James Madison at 9 p.m. ET. All games will be broadcast on FloHoops.

‍