Lobos fly past Falcons, 75-53
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team snapped a season-long four-game losing skid on Saturday afternoon as they cruised past the Air Force Academy by a score of 75-53. In getting back to their winning ways, the Lobos also picked up their first win in Mountain West play.
While the final result ended up being a 22-point victory for the Lobos (10-8, 1-4 MW), the game was neck-and-neck through the first quarter. In that opening period the score was tied six times while the lead changed hands twice.
The largest lead for either team during that time was a five-point advantage by the Falcons (4-12, 2-3 MW) at the 2:53 mark. Over the remainder of the quarter, however, the Lobos went on a 7-2 run to have the game tied at 17-all heading into the second quarter.
The run that was started at the end of the first quarter carried over in a big way in the second quarter for the Lobos as they eventually surged out to a double-digit lead, 32-22, at the 5:45 mark. Just over a minute of game time later at the 4:39 mark, the lead got as high as 14 points, 36-22. The Lobos would maintain a double-digit lead the remainder of the quarter and out-scored the Falcons 25-11 in the period to help them take a 42-28 lead into the locker room.
About midway through the third quarter, the Falcons made a run that brought them as close as seven points with 4:15 remaining. The run, which was an 8-0 run, started at the 6:10 mark and featured a pair of three-pointers by Nikki McDonald. The Lobos managed to break the run at the 3:51 mark and proceeded to rebuild a double-digit lead by the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Lobo lead was never in jeopardy and swelled out as large as 24 points late in the period.
Statistically, the Lobos received a very balanced scoring effort as five players reached double figures. Ahlise Hurst and Jordan Hosey tied for the team-lead with 12 points each. Antonia Anderson was next with 12 points. Jayla Everett and Jaedyn De La Cerda rounded out double-figure scoring with 10 points each.
Everett also notched a double-double as she dished out a career-high 10 assists. Her point-assist double-double was the first for the Lobos since Aisia Robertson notched one against Nevada last February.
The Lobos will now look to carry the momentum over to their two home games this coming week. First up is a Wednesday night game against Colorado State at 7 p.m. Following that is a 2 p.m. tip-off on Saturday afternoon against UNLV.