The New Mexico Junior College Thunderbirds showed why they are ranked 6th in the nation Monday with an 89-59 win over the Lady Mavericks at Foster-Piper Fieldhouse.
"New Mexico is one of the top teams in the nation," said Lady Mavs head coach Greg Krause. "Any success we experienced against their defensive height is when we spread the floor and created shots with dribble penetration."
"Stopping their offense is going to be a challenge for anyone," Krause added. "We want to build off the successful stretches we had and play more consistently from start to finish."
Freshman guard Tahanee Bennell had 27 to lead the Lady Mavs while Hannah Nealis added 13.
The Lady Mavs had stretches where they competed with the 6th ranked Thunderbirds. Benn ell had nine early points for the Lady Mavs as the teams were tied at 20-20 with 2:40 left in the quarter. She hit five 3-pointers for NOC on the afternoon.
The Thunderbirds New Mexico then went on a 29-10 run the remainder of the half to take a 49-31 lead. New Mexico extended the lead in the second half winning 89-59.
Sabela Reigosa and Alyssa Cox had eight points each for NOC.
The Lady Mavs travel to Enid for a date with NOC Enid Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
1 2 3 4—Total
New Mexico 30 19 21 19-- 89
NOC 21 10 15 13—59
NOC—Tahanee Bennell 27, Hannah Nealis 13, Sabela Reigosa 8, Alyssa Cox 8, Abigail Webster 2, Tatiana Jones 1
New Mexico – Alexes Bryant 29, Danielle Craft 19, Amanda Maqueia 13, Thamires Andrade 10, Ni'Asia McIntosh 8, Keonna Watson 7, Tatiana Wright 3.