ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team continues to shine in WisePies Arena after an 83-43 victory over Nicholls State Tuesday night.
The Lobos improve to 3-1 on the season and have now won 15 straight games in WisePies Arena, dating back to Dec. 18, 2014. Nicholls State drops to 2-1 on the season.
Bryce Owens led the squad with 15 points, going 6-for-11 from the field, including 2-for-5 from 3-point range. She brought down six rebounds to go along with two assists and one steal. Freshman Jaisa Nunn was second on the team with 14 points and led the team with nine boards, six coming on the offensive side.
After three turnovers and one made free throw in the first two minutes of the game, the Lobos went on a 6-0 run to take a 7-6 lead. Owens scored the final five points in the first quarter to extend the Lobos lead 22-10, finishing on an 11-1 run. UNM took advantage of the bench as they came off with 12 points after the first.
The Lobos built a 38-20 lead in the second after getting treys from Owens, Emily Lines, Laneah Bryan and Kenya Pye. UNM’s defense held the Colonels to just 12 points in the quarter. Whitney Johnson closed out the half with a layup in the final 30 seconds to take the Lobos into the locker room with a 48-22 lead.
Defense picked up in the second half as the Lobos only allowed the Colonels to score seven total in the third quarter. The Lobos really ran away with the game, scoring 16, mostly coming off points in the paint.
The Lobos allowed Nicholls State to score 14 in the fourth but that wasn’t close enough as the Lobos claimed the win, their third straight at home this season.
UNM’s bench came off to score 51 points, getting 10 from Lines, 14 from Nunn and nine each from Johnson and Bryan. A total of 44 points came from inside the paint for the Lobos and 23 came off Nicholls State’s turnovers.
Rebounding was in the Lobos’ favor the entire game as they collected 57, 25 coming on the offensive side, to the Colonels 24. The Lobos tallied 21 assists for the game with freshman Jannon Otto collecting four. Otto was second in rebounds with seven.
For the game, the Lobos shot 41.7 percent (30-72) from the field, 30 percent (6-20) from 3-point range and 58.6 percent (17-29). The Lobos held Nicholls State to 30.4 percent (14-46) from the field, 37.5 percent (6-16) from 3-point range and 50 percent (9-18) from the charity stripe.
The Lobos will host their annual UNM Thanksgiving Tournament this weekend, starting off with Southern Utah Friday at 5 p.m. The Lobos will then take on the winner of the neutral match-up with either North Carolina A&T or Duquesne on Saturday at 4 p.m. For tickets, visit GoLobos.com or call 925-LOBO.