Lobos get past pesky Falcons

Thursday, March 11, 2004 | 9:44 a.m.

DENVER -- Top-seeded New Mexico's performance against No. 8 Air Force in Wednesday's Mountain West Conference women's basketball tournament quarterfinals fell somewhere between a small leak and a flat tire.

But Lobos senior forward Melissa Forest said that was almost to be expected.

"We came out a little flat, obviously," said Forest, who scored a career-high 27 points to lift New Mexico to a 63-50 victory after it led just 21-17 at halftime. "But this is my fourth time playing in the tournament and every year we play not so well in the first game. We're just glad we got through it and look forward to the game on Friday."

By then, perhaps the Lobos' offense will be in sync with their nation's leading defense, which set a MWC record with 10 blocked shots in the first half.

"I thought we were doing a good job in the first half but we weren't scoring," said New Mexico coach Don Flanagan. "That's why we were only ahead by four. Our objective (in the second half) was to go inside, and obviously with Melissa having 27 points, we did that.

"Air Force was fully prepared for us."

Forward Lindsey Arndt added 14 points and guard Abbie Letz 12 for New Mexico, which will meet Wyoming in Friday's semifinals. Air Force, which fell to 3-25, was led by guards Letricia Castillo's 12 points and Amoy Jackson's 10.

The fifth-seeded Cowgirls led 31-25 at halftime but fell behind 41-34 midway through the second half before Elliott, who made 6-of-13 from beyond 3-point range, sparked a comeback that saw Wyoming take the lead for good at 54-52 with 3:41 to play.

Long-range shooting proved to be the difference as Wyoming (12-17) sank 10-of-26 from outside the arc while Colorado State made just 4-of-10.

Elliott, who has averaged 21.8 points over her past six games, received support from forwards Kristen Lenhardt and Michelle Lieber, who finished with 18 and 10 points, respectively, as Wyoming broke an 0-for-9 drought in conference tournament play.

Smith, a 6-foot-1 sophomore from British Columbia, sank 8-of-13 from the field and 9-of-10 from the foul line for the second-seeded Utes, who improved to 24-6. Carley Marshall and Shona Thorburn added 11 points each Utah, which outrebounded SDSU, 41-19.

Courtney Fritz led the Aztecs (8-21) with 17 points.