Strong defensive effort carries Lobos to 82-51 win over Texas State
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team opened up their 2018-19 season with an impressive 82-51 win over Texas State in the opening round of the Preseason WNIT on Friday night at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit. UNM will now advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament and will host Auburn University of the SEC at home on Sunday, November 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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The first win of the season for the Lobos (1-0) was spurred on by a sensational defensive effort that saw UNM force 24 turnovers and block a program-record 16 shots. The previous school record was 14 blocks in a game, which was done twice. Both of those instances came in 2003 as the Lobos denied 14 shots to Tennessee State and San Diego State.
Leading the charge in the block department for the Lobos was senior transfer Nike McClure as she had six rejections on the night. Her six blocks placed her just outside the top-five in the record books for blocks in a game.
In forcing the 24 turnovers, the Lobos were able to generate 25 points of offense on the other end of the court to help them pull away in the game.
The opening quarter favored Texas State as the Bobcats (0-1) shot 44% overall from the floor by going 7-of-16 and were also 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. The Lobos were not far off that pace by shooting 38% overall from the floor (6-of-16), but they were unsuccessful on their four three-point tries in the opening quarter. As a result, Texas State had a two-point lead, 16-14 at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.
The second quarter saw the Lobos begin to get a hold of the game, thanks in part to their defense. In that second quarter, UNM held the Bobcats to just 25% shooting from the floor and forced seven turnovers. After trailing by two at the end of the first, the Lobos would carry a two-point into the locker room, up 29-27.
In the third quarter is where the Lobos took complete control of the game, outscoring the Bobcats 33-12. It started right from the beginning for UNM that quarter as they opened the first five minutes on a 23-4 run, and in the process capture a 21-point lead.
During that run, the Lobos were a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor and 1-of-1 from three-point land as Ahlise Hurst’s trifecta at the 4:11 mark capped the run. Defensively, the Lobos held Texas State to 2-of-11 shooting (0-for-4 3pt) and turned them over four times.
The defensive pressure did not let up in the fourth quarter as the Lobos collected five of their school-record 16 blocks in the final 10 minutes. UNM would also achieve their largest lead of the game in the fourth quarter as a fastbreak 3-pointer by freshman Quincy Noble put the Lobos up by 34 points, 82-48.
The 31-point win by the Lobos in their season-opener is the largest margin of victory since 2008-09 when the Lobos beat Alcorn State 94-38 (+56).
As mentioned earlier, the Lobos will now advance in the preseason WNIT and will host Auburn on Sunday, November 11 at 2 p.m. at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit.
Post-Game Notes
- Jaisa Nunn was honored post-game for joining the 1,000-point club last season. After her game on Friday in which she scored 14 points, Nunn moved up to 18th on the all-time scoring list with 1,042 points.
- The Lobos set a new school record for blocks in a game (16)
- The Lobos previously had 14 blocks vs Tennessee State on December 5, 2003 and against San Diego State on January 30, 2003
- 10 out of the 12 Lobos scored in the game
- Aisia Robertson (17), Jaisa Nunn (14), Jayla Everett (11), Ahlise Hurst (7) Jaedyn De La Cerda (9), Shaiquel McGruder (6), Antonia Anderson (6), Quincy Noble (5), Nike McClure (4), Madi Washington (3).
- UNM out-rebounded Texas State 47-40 and were better in points off turnovers (25-11), points in the paint (48-22), second-chance points (18-8), fast-break points (45-12), and points off the bench (27-15).
- By the end of the game the Lobos’ field goal percentage was 43.7% (31-of-71) while Texas State was limited to a 29% field goal percentage (18-of-62).