Lobos distribute and shoot ball well in 79-56 win at CSU
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team picked up a solid road win on Saturday afternoon inside Moby Arena as they eased past Colorado State by a score of 79-56.
The win keeps the Lobos (23-4, 13-3 MW) one game back of league-leading Boise State, who beat UNLV 58-35 on Saturday, and sets up a monumental showdown this coming Monday in Boise. It will be the one and only time the Lobos and Broncos are scheduled to meet in the regular season and the Mountain West Regular Season Championship likely hangs in the balance. Entering that game, the Broncos will be 14-2 in league play while the Lobos will be 13-3 and both teams will have one more game in the regular season following the Monday matchup.
In the game against the Rams (8-19, 2-14 MW) on Saturday, the Lobos employed an all-around team effort and particularly shined in distributing the ball and shooting from long range. For the third-straight game and fifth time this season, the Lobos had at least 20 assists, ending with 23. The Lobos also buried 12 three-pointers for the second-straight time to tie their season-high in that category.
On the assist front, Jaedyn De La Cerda, Jayla Everett and Aisia Robertson all had at least six dimes with Everett’s seven pacing the team. From three-point range, the Lobos had four players with multiple makes from distance. Everett, Robertson and Ahlise Hurst combined for nine of the makes as each had a trio of trifectas against the Rams.
Check out some of our highlights from our 76-56 win at Colorado State #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/HjOyF1O7yN
— Lobo Women’s Basketball (@UNMLoboWBB) March 2, 2019
What was perhaps more impressive for the Lobos than the sheer number of assists was the percentage of field goals that those assists came on. For the game, the Lobos made 27 field goals and only four of those were not assisted on. The 85% assist-to-field goal ratio was the highest this season for the team.
The Lobos never trailed in the game and had four of their starters in double figures. Jaisa Nunn and Everett each scored 17 points to lead the team. Nunn’s scoring came on 6-of-10 shooting overall from the floor and a perfect showing at the charity stripe, going 5-of-5. Everett was 5-of-11 overall from the floor, 3-of-8 from three-point range and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Robertson was a couple points back of Nunn and Everett with 15 points herself. Hurst rounded out double-figure scoring for the Lobos with 11 points.
Despite not reaching double figures in scoring, starting forward Nike McClure hauled in a team-high 11 rebounds. It is the most rebounds in a game for McClure since she had 12 in the Lobos’ first meeting against Colorado State back in January.
As mentioned earlier, the next game for the Lobos is a big one as they travel to Boise, Idaho to take on Boise State this coming Monday evening. The Lobos and Broncos will enter as the top-two teams in the Mountain West. Tip-off from the Taco Bell Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. (MT).