Lobos fall to Ball State in non-conference finale
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A grueling stretch of games that saw the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team play five games in seven days ended on Friday night as the Lobos took on Ball State University. Friday night’s game, which was a 70-57 win for Ball State, also served as the final game of the Lobo Invitational, the final game of the 2019 calendar year and the final non-conference game for the Lobos.
The Lobos (9-6) will now enjoy a welcomed break over the holidays and will resume with their schedule at home on New Year’s Day against San José State.
In the game against Ball State, the Lobos jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead over the first minute of action, but the Cardinals (7-4), who went 3-0 at the Lobo Invitational, ripped off a 12-0 run over a near four-minute stretch to take control of the game.
The Cardinals would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way out as the Lobos struggled generating consistent offense.
Trailing by 11 at the break, the Lobos came out with a spark in the third quarter and opened up on a 6-0 run to get as close as five points with 8:39 remaining. The Lobos would fall into another scoring drought, however, over the next three minutes of game time and the Cardinals took advantage with a 10-0 run to swell their lead out 15 points, 45-30, with 5:31 to go in the third.
That lead grew as large as 18 points right before the end of the period.
In the fourth quarter, the Lobos opened up again on a 6-0 run thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Aisia Robertson and got as close as 11 points with 5:37 left on the clock, but the Cardinals once more stemmed the tide and kept a double-digit lead the remainder of the game, eventually closing out with a 13-point win.
Offensively, it was a tough night for the Lobos as they shot just 25% overall from the floor (19-of-76), 18% from three-point range (6-of-33) and 68% (13-of-19) from the charity stripe. The Lobos did have three players score in double figures with Robertson leading the way with 16 points. Ahlise Hurst was next with 14 points and Antonia Anderson wrapped up double-figure scoring with 10 points. Shaiquel McGruder had an overall solid game with eight points and eight rebounds. Jordan Hosey, who was plagued with foul trouble, also had eight rebounds to help pace the team.