Nystrom helps CSU edge Lobos
Late block foils New Mexico rally
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Ellen Nystrom is not the Mountain West’s reigning women’s basketball player of the year for nothing.
Nystrom made a strong case for repeat honors Wednesday night as her Colorado State Rams held on for a 58-55 victory over New Mexico at Moby Arena. Nystrom finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and a clean block on Alex Lapeyrolerie’s 3-point try with 2 seconds remaining.
“(The Rams) won because they had the best player,” UNM coach Mike Bradbury said in a postgame phone interview. “It’s literally that simple. I thought our kids outworked them most of the game, but Nystrom made the plays they needed. She’s really good.”
Nystrom’s performance overshadowed a valiant comeback by the Lobos (15-11, 10-6), who trailed 27-17 at halftime but turned the game into a nail-biter in the second half. Lapeyrolerie scored a team-high 16 points, and Laneah Bryan hit four 3-pointers, including one that gave UNM a 52-51 lead with 3:31 remaining.
CSU (21-6, 13-2) regained the lead on a Myanne Hamm 3-pointer and held a 56-55 advantage after Bryan’s final 3 with 36 seconds left. The Rams held the ball until Nystrom drove and banked in a shot over UNM’s Richelle van der Keijl as the shot clock expired with 5.5 seconds left on the game clock.
New Mexico set up an inbounds play that briefly got Lapeyrolerie open at the 3-point arc, but Nystrom closed quickly and blocked her shot out of bounds.
Elin Gustavsson had 11 points and 11 rebounds for CSU, which has lost just one MWC home game in the last four seasons. Cherise Beynon collected 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for UNM, but finished just 5-for-21 from the field
“I’m proud of our kids,” Bradbury said. “Nothing to hang our heads about, we just have to make more shots, especially in the first half.”