Box Score

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -

New Mexico 80, Utah state 47

After falling behind in the early minutes, Utah State women's basketball was never able to catch New Mexico, falling to the Lobos, 80-47, on the road Wednesday.

For the Aggies, sophomore guard/forward Hailey Bassett celebrated her birthday with a team-high 14 points. She was the only USU player to score in double figures, but redshirt sophomore guard Lindsey Jensen scored a career-high eight points. Junior center Deja Mason was the top rebounder for the Aggies with eight boards on the night. New Mexico had four players with double-digit scoring, led by 20 points from Jaisa Nunn.

With the loss, Utah State falls to 5-17 on the year and 3-8 in Mountain West action. New Mexico snaps a three-game losing streak, improving 17-6 overall and 5-5 against conference opponents.

New Mexico won the tip and scored on its first possession, but Bassett and sophomore guard/forward Shannon Dufficy quickly answered back for the Aggies, scoring eight-straight points to take the lead. A 6-0 run put the score back in the Lobos' favor, taking the teams to the media timeout. Out of that stop, the offensive pace slowed on both ends of the court momentarily, but New Mexico found a surge from the 3-point line. After out-scoring the Aggies, 11-4, in the latter minutes, the Lobos took a 22-14 lead at the end of the first.

The New Mexico offensive carried its power over into the opening minutes of the second quarter, scoring seven-straight on the Aggies. Freshman guard Emmie Harris ended the USU drought with a layup, but the Lobos answered with another 3-point shot. Junior guard Rachel Brewster then added a shot in the paint, but back-to-back shots from New Mexico put the Lobo lead at 19. Neither team was able to score over the next three minutes, a skid ended by UNM at the 2:58 mark. Closing the half on a 10-0 run, and holding the Aggies to just four points in the quarter, New Mexico went into the halftime break with a 42-18 lead.

The Lobos picked up right where they left off, scoring first in the third quarter. After two missed shots, Utah State took its final timeout of the game, a minute into the third. Dufficy was the one to end the Aggies' scoring drought, hitting the team's first 3-pointer of the night and scoring the first Utah State points in nearly nine minutes. From there, the Aggie offense picked up a bit, trading shots back-and-forth with New Mexico. By the end of the period, Utah State and New Mexico had scored an even 17 points, while the Aggies shot 58.3 percent from the floor. The Lobos maintained their lead though, up 59-35 after three quarters.

Utah State scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, holding the Lobos scoreless until the 7:36 mark. The Aggies got one more shot in from redshirt sophomore guard Victoria Price before the New Mexico defense held the team scoreless for another 2:22. Redshirt sophomore guard Lindsey Jensen put up a quick four points with two free throws and a layup in the Aggies' next trip to the basket, reaching a new career-high. Closing the game on an 11-2 run, New Mexico used the final minutes to continue to build up its lead and secure the win.

Overall, Utah State shot 34.5 percent (20-of-58) from the floor, going 11.1 percent (1-of-11) from the 3-point line and 85.7 percent (6-of-7) from the free throw line. New Mexico shot 49.2 percent (30-of-61) from the field, including 45.5 percent (15-of-33) from behind the arc, and was 100 percent (5-of-5) from the free throw line.

Utah State has the rest of the week free from competition, as the Aggies have their first bye of the Mountain West season. USU will return to action next week, hosting Wyoming on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m.

Fans can follow USU women's basketball on Twitter, @USUWBasketball, on Instagram, @USUWBasketball, as well as on Facebook, at /USUWBB. Aggie fans can also follow Utah State Athletics on Twitter, @USUAthletics, on Instagram, @USUAthletics and on Facebook at /USUAthletics.