ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— When The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team takes the court on Thursday, 11 days will have passed since the last game for the Lobos. However, for UNM’s opponent, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Golden Lions haven’t played in 16 days.
The Lobos enter Thursday’s 2 p.m. CT/ 1 p.m. MT game with two, 90-point performances on the season, coming off of a 28-point win to open the season against Midwestern State (93-65) and a competitive 98-89 win over Sam Houston State. Only having played two games like the Lobos, UAPB is 1-1 on the season with an 85-68 win over Arkansas State and a 74-70 loss to Central Arkansas.
Through two games, the Lobos have shown balanced scoring with six Lobos averaging double figures in points per game. Jaedyn De La Cerda leads the Lobo scoring with 20.0 points per game, followed by LaTascya Duff at 15.5, LaTora Duff at 14.5, Antonia Anderson at 11.5, Ahlise Hurst at 10.5 and Corina Carter at 10.0.
Against Sam Houston State, UNM had six players reach the 10-point mark with De La Cerda leading with 24 points. Shaiquel McGruder added 17 points, the Duff sisters had matching 15 points and Carter and Anderson each contributed 10 points. It was the first time that the Lobos have ever had six double-digit scorers in a game. UNM came close to achieving that in the first game at Midwestern State with five Lobos in double figures.
McGruder had a complete game against Sam Houston State with 17 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and three steals and is averaging 9.5 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game this season.
Part of UNM’s prolific offense has been attributed to behind the arc shooting with the Lobos making 13 three-pointers against Midwestern State and eight against Sam Houston State. Three-point shooting contributed to UNM’s 18-0 run in the second quarter at Sam Houston State, with UNM hitting three, three-pointers in the run and going 5-for-6 in the quarter as the Lobos outscored the Bearkats 31-18 in the second. Nine different Lobos have registered at least one made three this season, led by Hurst with six.
Another area that has allowed the Lobos to rack up points is at the free-throw line, where UNM has attempted 84 free throws, making 62, while opponents have only attempted 66 free throws.
A trend to look out for is UNM’s scoring in the even quarters, with the Lobos outscoring their opponents by margins of 18 points (second quarter) and 11 points (fourth quarter) to date.
Fans will be able to watch the Lobos on the UAPB Sports Network free of charge, which can be accessed using the following link. Additionally, the Lobo radio feed will be on KNML (610 AM) with J.J. Buck and can be picked up on the Lobo Sports App, and stats will be available here.