Lobos Cruise to 93-65 Win at Midwestern State
WICHITA FALLS, Texas— Behind five Lobos scoring in double figures, The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team cruised to a 93-65 win over Midwestern State to open the season on Friday night.
Junior Ahlise Hurst led the team with 18 points, followed by LaTascya Duff and Jaedyn De La Cerda with 16 points each, LaTora Duff with 14 points and Antonia Anderson with 13 points.
The Lobos took advantage of getting to the foul line and had balanced scoring from their starters to get out to an early lead in the first quarter that would extend throughout the contest.
It didn’t take long to set the tone of how the game would go as UNM scored the first six points of the game with Anderson and LaTora Duff each splitting a pair of free throws and Hurst hitting her first three of the game before going 1-for-2 at the line. Hurst would finish with five made three-pointers, shooting 50 percent from distance in the contest.
The Lobos stretched the lead to 19 at 23-4 on a 12-0 run, in which the Duff twins accounted for eight points, before the quarter closed with the Lobos ahead 25-6.
In the opening frame, the Lobos limited the Mustangs to scoring six points on six free throws, as MSU went 0-for-7 from the floor and 0-for-2 from three-point range and didn’t allow any offensive rebounds to extend possessions.
UNM’s lead reached 25 points on a LaTascya Duff three-pointer with 7:36 on the clock before the Mustangs cut the margin to 16 at 34-18 following a 10-1 run by the home team. Azaria Robinson pushed the lead back to 20 with a layup after taking her defender off the dribble and driving hard to the basket and a De La Cerda three with five seconds left in the quarter pushed the Lobo lead further to 24 at 49-25 heading into the half.
In the first half, UNM hit eight three-pointers with Hurst and De La Cerda accounting for three apiece, and at the line, the Lobos made 13 free throws on 20 attempts. UNM also held a 17-13 advantage on the boards with six Lobos accounting for an offensive board that resulted in nine second chance points.
De La Cerda and Hurst both broke into double figures in the first half with De La Cerda leading the team with 15 points and Hurst close behind with 10.
Furthermore, from the 53-second mark in the second quarter when a Kath van Bennekom three made it 46-25, the Lobo lead never reached below 21 points for the remainder of the game.
Following the break, Anderson scored four quick points and a Hurst three kept the Mustangs at bay as UNM extended the halftime lead to 26 points at 56-30.
As the quarter progressed, strong defense led to fast-break opportunities with LaTora Duff tallying three steals in the frame, resulting in four fast-break points. Duff would finish with a game-high four steals in her Lobo debut and the Lobos would score 11 of their 23 third quarter points on fast breaks.
Although the Mustangs almost matched the Lobos’ point production in the third quarter, the Lobos entered the final frame ahead by 25 points following an Autumn Watts three with nine seconds remaining in the third that made it 72-47. UNM closed the quarter on a 4-0 run that would continue to become an 8-0 run and would give the Lobos their largest lead to that point, a 30-point advantage at 77-47.
UNM would continue to hold a comfortable cushion, ultimately reaching a margin of 33 points at 93-60 with 2:18 left in the game on another LaTora Duff steal that led to an Anderson fast-break layup that capped a 9-0 Lobo run. Anderson scored six points in the final frame, and finished the game a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and a nearly perfect 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.
The Lobos head to Huntsville, Texas for a Sunday matchup against Sam Houston State, with tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m. MT. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+ but fans can also follow on the radio on 610 KNML or on the Lobo Sports App.
POSTGAME NOTES
-With the win over Midwestern State, Head Coach Mike Bradbury is now 5-0 in opening games at UNM. However, this is the first time in his tenure that the Lobos have opened up the season on the road.
-The 93 points scored by the Lobos are the most points scored by UNM since scoring 92 against Northern New Mexico on Dec. 10, 2019.
-In their Lobo debut, LaTora and LaTascya Duff combined for 30 points and filled the stat sheet with a combined 11 assists, nine rebounds and six steals.
-LaTascya Duff led the Lobos in assists (six), while LaTora Duff led the team with four steals. LaTascya and De La Cerda tied for the team high in rebounds with five and four UNM players recorded a block.
-Kath van Bennekom was one point shy of six Lobos finishing in double figures, with the majority of her points coming from the free-throw line (6-for-8).
-UNM had nine players score a point in the game, with three players recording their first points as a Lobo (LaTora Duff, LaTascya Duff, van Bennekom).
-The Lobos never trailed in the game and reached their largest lead of 33 with 2:18 remaining in the game.
-UNM led MSU in points in the paint (24-20), second chance points (15-9), fast break points (23-8) and steals (13-9).