Lobos heat up late in 80-70 win over UC Riverside
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team overcame a slow start offensively in their season-opener against UC Riverside on Tuesday night inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit and eventually ended with a double-digit win, 80-70.
With the slow start offensively for the Lobos (1-0), UC Riverside took advantage and at one point built up a 13-2 lead at the 6:16 mark of the first quarter. On the ensuing possession, UNM’s Ahlise Hurst knocked down the first of her six three-pointers in the game to give the Lobo offense and home crowd a boost. The Lobos were unable to get much closer in the opening quarter as they went into the second period trailing 17-8.
In that first quarter, the Lobos shot just 16% overall from the field making 3-of-19 field goals overall which included 1-of-9 from long range. On the other end of the court, the Highlanders (0-1) were efficient in the first quarter shooting 40% overall (6-of-15) and going 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.
The second quarter saw the Highlanders improve upon their scoring efficiency as they shot 50% overall (7-of-14), but they did not attempt a three-pointer. Despite the Highlanders consistency on offense, the Lobos found their footing in the second quarter and began to chip away at their deficit.
That comeback effort started early in the second quarter as the Lobos ripped off a 10-2 run over the first three and a half minutes of play to bring the game to within a point at 19-18. At the 5:56 mark, the Lobos drew even at 19-all. The Highlanders did not relinquish the lead, but UNM was able to tie the game on four more occasions in the quarter before claiming their first lead of the game at the 2:00 minute mark on a Fastbreak layup by Jaedyn De La Cerda.
The initial Lobo lead was short-lived, however as the Highlanders regained a two-point lead with 1:24 left in the half. As time was expiring in the half, De La Cerda sent the Lobos into the locker room tied at 33-all with the Highlanders as she cleaned up her own offensive miss and beat the buzzer on her second attempt.
Check out some of the game highlights from tonight’s 80-70 win over UC Riverside! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/tdx3EAZBTY
— Lobo Women’s Basketball (@UNMLoboWBB) November 6, 2019
The lead would change hands on three occasions early in the third quarter as play was closely contested. Trailing by a point with just over four minutes left in the quarter, the Lobos took a lead on a layup by Jordan Hosey. That sparked a series of five lead changes over the next minute or so of action.
The last of those lead changes occurred at the 3:37 mark on a jumper by Jayla Everett that gave the Lobos a 50-49 lead. UNM remained out in front the remainder of the quarter and continued to build upon the lead in the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, the Lobos were able to swell their lead out as large as 15 points, 74-59, with 3:56 left to play. The most-recent five points during that surge were scored by Hurst as she made a three-pointer and drove in for a layup.
A brief 5-0 run by the Highlanders brought the game to within 10 points with 1:44 left in regulation, but the Lobos were able to stem that tide and held a double-digit advantage through the end of the game.
Hurst ended the game as the team’s leading scorer with 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting overall and 6-of-7 from three-point range. She was also the lone starter to notch double figures, but big scoring efforts off the bench by Jaedyn De La Cerda, Jayla Everett and Jordan Hosey helped the Lobo offense. All three scored in double figures with Everett scoring 14, De La Cerda 13, and Hosey 12.
The Lobos will remain at home and prepare to take on Northern Arizona on Friday, November 8. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit.