No. 16 New Mexico 55, New Mexico St. 42

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)—Abbie Letz scored a career-high 27 points and added 10 rebounds Sunday to lead No. 16 New Mexico to a 55-42 win over New Mexico State.

New Mexico (10-3) beat the Aggies (3-8) for the 20th straight time on the strength of Letz’s play at both ends. She had five steals, two blocks and hit 10 of 20 shots while the rest of the Lobos went 9-for-26.

None of the Aggies reached double figures. Sherell Neal scored nine points and Jenean Ford and Tristan Baker had eight.

New Mexico State, which lost to the Lobos 79-77 in triple overtime on Dec. 21, again gave New Mexico all it could handle. The Aggies led 33-28 with 13:40 left but Letz scored six straight points to give the Lobos their first lead since early in the first half.

After New Mexico State jumped in front again, Letz hit a 3-pointer and two free throws to give the Lobos a 41-37 lead with 6:45 left.

New Mexico pulled away toward the end, outscoring the Aggies 10-2 over the final 3:41.

The Aggies took a 16-12 lead in the first half with an 11-3 run that included 3-pointers by Cecilia Russell-Nava, Baker and Neal. The only points for New Mexico in that stretch was a 3 by Letz.

Jayci Stone hit a 3 just before the buzzer in the first half to give the Aggies a 27-24 lead at the break.

Updated Jan 1, 6:47 pm EST
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Top Performers

 Top Performers
 New Mexico St.
J. Ford J. Ford
4-7,  8 Pts
7 Rebs, 2 Assists
 New Mexico
A. Letz A. Letz
10-20,  27 Pts
10 Rebs, 0 Assists

Team Stat Leaders

Points
Rebounds
Assists