Thorburn leads Ute women to upset of No. 16 N.M.

Shona Thorburn turned things around.

The Utah senior scored 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Utes defeated No. 16 New Mexico 75-62 Saturday in the Huntsman Center.

Thorburn's performance avenged a 2-for-15 shooting night in Utah's 59-42 loss to the Lobos in Albuquerque on Jan. 5.

"It was like night and day compared to that game a month ago," said Thorburn, who was 10-of-15 from the field. "A little redemption."

The victory ended Utah's six-game losing streak to New Mexico.

"Clear your heads. This is today," Utah coach Elaine Elliott told her team. "We kind of felt that it was mostly a mind game for us to overcome to get a better performance."

The Utes were tested, though. They trailed 52-51 with less than seven minutes to go before taking the lead for good with a 5-0 run.

New Mexico managed to pull within a basket twice down the stretch, but Utah held off each threat. Thorburn was especially effective with six points in the final 3:18.

"That was vintage Shona," Elliott said. "It was nice to have that game for her."

Thorburn had plenty of help. Teammate Kim Smith also had a big game. She had a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds while becoming just the third player in Utah's women's basketball history to score 2,000 career points.

The Utes (15-5, 6-3) moved into a second-place tie with the Lobos (16-6, 6-3) in Mountain West Conference play.

"It feels so good to have beaten them," Thorburn added.

When the teams met earlier this season, New Mexico used an 11-3 run to pull away early.

"We knew, obviously, that couldn't be repeated," Elliott said. "There had to be some distinction at the start of the halves compared to the last time we played them."

Things were different this time around. Utah jumped out to a 4-0 advantage on back-to-back baskets by Jessica Perry.

The lead, however, changed hands six times before the first half was complete. The score was also tied on three occasions before the Utes secured a 33-30 edge at the break.

They did so with various contributions in the first half. Thorburn and Perry led the way with 11 and nine points, respectively. Other notable numbers included nine rebounds by Smith and Heidi Carlsen's five assists.

"We came out ready," Thorburn said. "We were fired up and I think we played like we were."

Utah returns to action Wednesday night at league-leading BYU.

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E-mail: dirk@desnews.com