ALBUQUERQUE, N.M --The Loyola Marymount University women's basketball team had a dominating fourth quarter come back to beat University of New Mexico behind a dominating performance by Jasmine Jones at the Lobo Invitational. 
 
LMU vs New Mexico – 73-72
 
"Tonight was one of the grittiest wins I've seen," said head coach Charity Elliott. "We just kept battling no matter what happened and I'm very proud of this team.  Jasmine and Chelsey led us for 40 minutes and our bench came up huge for us.Meghan Mandel was the difference maker!"
 
The Lions opened up the first quarter on a strong note, as CiCi Ellington got the Lions on the board first after making a free-throw, which was followed by a layup from Chelsey Gipson. The Lions went on a 7-0 run before the Lobos scored. UNM took the lead at 11-12, but the Lions responded and took the lead back for the rest of the quarter, closing out the first up 22-21.
 
The Lobos quickly took the lead to open the second quarter. The Lions battled and tied things up at 36-36, but the Lobos responded, putting up 27 points in the quarter and ended the half on top of the Lions 48-36. 
 
The Lions upped their momentum when they came out for the second half. Raychel Stanley made a layup, which started an 11-1 run to cut LMU's deficit by only five. The Lions left the third only trailing the Lobos by one after a jumper from Brittney Reed and a layup from Meghan Mandel. 
 
Down 56-55 to open the fourth quarter, the Lobos fought to keep their lead, but a layup from Jones tied things up, and after a response from New Mexico, a layup from Ellington gave the Lions the lead.  With Stanley in foul trouble, the Lions and the Lobos were neck and neck, as there were four lead changes and two tied scores in the last four minutes of play. With one second left, Gipson took a charge to give the Lions back the ball. LMU closed out the game with a 73-72 win over New Mexico. 
 
Jones earned her fifth double-double of the season in the fourth quarter. The junior dominated, leading the team in points with 21, a season high, rebounds with 11, assists with six and steals with six. Mandel led the team in blocks with six. 
 
The Lions had 43 rebounds compared to UNM's 53, 14 total assists and seven blocks, while the Lobos had 12 and four. LMU had 21 points off of the bench and 38 points in the paint. 
 
Up next: The Lions will play their last game of Lobo Invitational on Friday at 4:30/3:30 PST against Providence College. The Friars have gone 0-2 at the Invitational.