CSU women lose regular-season finale to New Mexico

The CSU women's basketball team lost Tuesday night at New Mexico, a result that means little in the big picture for the Rams.

Colorado State University fell 54-48 at The Pit. The outcome of Thursday's game — the Rams' final of the regular season — has no bearing on CSU's postseason setup.

The Rams (19-10, 11-7 Mountain West) had already earned a bye in the first round of the Mountain West tournament after their win over Nevada on Saturday.

They were locked in to play in the quarterfinal game of the Mountain West tournament between the No. 4 and 5 seeds. CSU is the No. 5 seed.

In that game, which will be at 3:30 p.m. March 6 in Las Vegas, CSU will play Fresno State.

The loss Tuesday at New Mexico (21-9, 9-8) was a poor-shooting effort for both teams. New Mexico shot 29 percent and the Rams were at 33 percent.

Cherise Beynon had 20 points for the Lobos, who outscored CSU 15-3 in second-chance points.

Hannah Tvrdy led CSU with 19 points and Stine Austgulen added 11.

The Rams now have a week to prepare for the Mountain West tournament, where winning three games in a row for a conference title is the only way for the team to earn postseason play.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle at twitter.com/Kevin_Lytle and at facebook.com/KevinSLytle.

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New Mexico 54, CSU 48

CSU 18 7 9 14 — 48

New Mexico 14 12 15 13 — 54

CSU (19-10, 11-7) — Tvrdy 7-10 3-4 19, Austgulen 4-6 1-1 11, Edwards 3-9 0-0 6, Brady 2-15 0-0 4, Devos 1-5 2-2 4, Tryggedsson 1-7 0-0 2, Colaivalu 0-1 2-2 2.

New Mexico (21-9, 9-8) — Beynon 7-22 6-7 20, Nunn 3-7 6-7 12, Washington 3-7 0-0 9, Buck 2-7 2-2 7, Flye 3-17 0-0 6.

Next up: CSU vs. Fresno State, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in quarterfinals of Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas