Cold shooting hinders Lobos at San Diego State
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team had an uncharacteristic shooting performance on Wednesday afternoon and suffered a 61-59 setback on the road at San Diego State in the matinee matchup.
In the game, the Aztecs (8-12, 3-6 MW) held the Lobos (18-3, 8-2 MW) to their lowest shooting percentage both overall (.319) and from three-point range this season (.115). Despite that, UNM was still in position to either tie the game or win it as the Lobos had the game’s final possession and trailed by just two.
In what was an overall tough shooting game, the Lobos were led in scoring by Jaisa Nunn as she scored 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting overall and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Nunn also recorded her fourth-straight double-double and 10th this season with 11 rebounds.
Defensively, the Lobos forced 19 turnovers, blocked six shots and came away with nine steals.
While the shooting percentage ended up being low for the Lobos, there was no indication that would be the case early in the game as they shot 50% (8-of-16) overall and made 2-of-5 shots from long range in the first quarter. That helped the Lobos establish an 18-13 lead through the first 10 minutes of play.
The second quarter, however, is when the tide began to shift some as the Lobos shot just 24% overall and were 0-of-7 from deep. Conversely, the Aztecs shot 40% overall and from three-point range as they out-scored UNM 15-10 to make it a tie game at the break.
The shooting figures remained much of the same for both teams in the third quarter as the Aztecs were able to build a seven-point lead, 47-40, heading into the fourth quarter.
That lead grew as large as 10 points for the Aztecs early in the fourth quarter before the Lobos began to fight their way back into the game. Trailing by that margin at the 7:21 mark, the Lobos went on a 6-0 burst to cut the deficit to four points, 54-50, with 5:48 to go.
The capping basket on the Lobo surge was a three-pointer by Jayla Everett. The Aztecs responded right back, however on the other end with a three of their own to push it back to a seven-point game.
With 3:49 left and the Lobos trailing by that margin, Nunn made a layup and drew a foul for the conventional three-point play to make it a two-possession game once more. Neither team would score over the next two minutes of game time until Everett was fouled and cashed in both attempts to make it a one-possession game at 59-57.
A layup by the Aztecs with 1:29 left pushed the lead back to four, but another pair of made free throws, this time by Nunn, trimmed the SDSU lead down to two points with 31 seconds to go.
Looking to send SDSU to the line to keep as much time as possible on the clock, the Lobos had only committed two fouls in the quarter to that point, so they needed to foul three times. The first two fouls committed took about 10 seconds off the clock. With 15 seconds left, SDSU turned the ball over without the Lobos having to foul and send the Aztecs to the line.
Immediately following the turnover, UNM called a timeout to draw up a play to either tie the game and send it into overtime or win it in regulation.
Out of the timeout, the play and ball movement eventually got the ball into the hands of Everett, who then got a baseline jump shot attempt at the buzzer. The shot did not fall as the Lobos suffered just their second loss in league play.
The Lobos will now prepare for a home game this coming Saturday against Nevada. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit.