Aggies knock off Lady Techsters; streak in jeopardy

Cecilia Russell-Nava scored 15 points and New Mexico State beat Louisiana Tech 63-57 in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament Wednesday in Las Cruces, N.M., nearly assuring an end to the Lady Techsters’ run of NCAA tournament appearances without an at-large berth.

Louisiana Tech (17-13) had been to 25 straight NCAA tournaments, a distinction the Lady Techsters shared with perennial power Tennessee.

It’s the second straight year the seventh-seeded Aggies (12-17) beat the tournament’s second seed.

Boise State 81, San Jose State 64: Jessica Thompson scored 18 points to lead the top-seeded Broncos (23-8) to a win over the No. 8 Spartans (5-27).

Fresno State 72, Hawaii 47: Chantella Perera scored a team-high 16 points to lead the fourth-seeded Bulldogs (18-12) past the No. 5 Warriors (13-15).

Nevada 61, Utah State 60: Dellena Criner poured in a game-high 23 points, as the No. 3 Wolf Pack (17-13) squeaked by the No. 6 Aggies (11-18).

Big 12

(11) Oklahoma 67, Texas 58: Courtney Paris scored 17 points, leading the Sooners (24-4) to a win over the Longhorns (18-14) in the conference tournament quarterfinals at Oklahoma City.

(13) Texas A&M 62, Colorado 45: Takia Starks scored 16 points as the top-seeded Aggies (24-5) beat the Buffaloes (13-17).

(18) Baylor 71, Kansas 54: Bernice Mosby scored 12 points as the Bears (25-6) beat the Jayhawks (11-20).

Horizon League

(22) Wisconsin-Green Bay 81, Detroit 58: Amanda Popp scored 22 points and Rachel Porath added 17, leading the Phoenix (26-3) to a victory over the Titans (5-26) in a tournament quarterfinal in Green Bay, Wis.

Patriot League

Holy Cross 56, American 48: Bethany O’Dell scored 20 points to lead the Crusaders (15-17) past the Eagles (13-19) in the tournament championship game at Worcester, Mass.