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Lobos grind out 71-68 win over Missouri in Cancun Challenge

CANCUN, Mexico – The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team remained unbeaten on the season as they grinded out a 71-68 win over the University of Missouri on Thanksgiving Day as part of the 2019 Cancun Challenge.
 
The win for the Lobos keeps the them unbeaten and improves their record to 6-0. It was also the Lobos’ first win over a team from the SEC since 2006 when UNM routed Florida, 83-59, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
In the game, the Lobos jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead and held that lead until the 7:01 mark of the first quarter when the Tigers (2-5) cracked the scoreboard on a pair of free throws. The Tigers methodically trimmed the early deficit and claimed their first lead of the game, 17-15, at the 2:33 mark on a three-pointer by Hayley Frank. By quarter’s end, Missouri held a one-point advantage, 19-18.
 
Play in the second quarter was tightly-contested with three lead changes in the first two and a half minutes. The Lobos had the last of those changes in their favor as Ahlise Hurst buried a three-pointer at the 7:32 mark to give the Lobos a 26-24 lead. About a minute later, Hurst drained another triple and extended the Lobo lead out to five points, 29-24.
 
As they did in the first quarter, Missouri battled back and eventually headed into the locker room with a five-point lead themselves, 36-31, thanks to a 12-2 run over the final six minutes of the half.
 
That Tiger lead grew out as large as seven points early in the third quarter before the Lobos climbed back and knotted the game at 42-all on a layup by Missouri-native Jayla Everett at the 6:58 mark. The Tigers would not relinquish the lead and eventually ended the third quarter leading by six, 61-55.
 
In the fourth quarter, Missouri once more gained their largest lead of the game at seven points, 65-58, with 8:36 left. A personal 6-0 run by Everett over the next four minutes of action pulled the Lobos to within a point, 65-64, with 4:26 on the clock. The comeback effort was complete a minute later on a mid-range jumper by Hurst that put the Lobos up 66-65.
 
That lead was bolstered to four points at the 2:27 mark as Aisia Robertson knocked down the biggest shot of the game with a three-pointer from the wing. Not only was it a big shot, but a welcomed sight as Robertson was playing in her first game since suffering an ACL injury in the Lobos’ regular season finale last year.
 
Missouri answered back and went to the line with a chance to tie it at the 1:27 mark, but after making the first shot, a lane violation was called on the second attempt, giving the Lobos the ball and keeping them in front by a point.
 
Following that, Missouri got a block on the ensuing possession, but missed a shot on their trip down the court and turned the ball over with 18 seconds left, essentially putting the game on the line at the charity stripe.
 
The Lobos would split their final four free throws, but the two points were all that they needed as their defense prevented a quality look at a potential game-tying three by the Tigers as time expired.
 
Four Lobos scored in double figures with Everett leading the way with 17 points. All but three of Everett’s points came in the second half. Hurst and Antonia Anderson were next with 15 points each. Najala Howell rounded out double-figure scoring with 11. Shaiquel McGruder hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds. Everett and Robertson accounted for nine of the Lobos’ 12 assists in the game with Everett dishing out five and Robertson four.
 
The Lobos will now prepare to take on No. 23-ranked West Virginia on Friday afternoon to conclude the 2019 Cancun Challenge. The Mountaineers will enter the game 4-1 after dropping their first game in Cancun, 82-75 to Creighton.