De La Cerda Paces Lobos in Win in MW Opener
RENO, Nev.— The Nevada Wolf Pack attempted a furious comeback in the third quarter of Thursday’s Mountain West opener, but the halftime lead built by New Mexico proved to be too much as the Lobos led from start to finish in the 88-69 victory.
Senior guard Jaedyn De La Cerda led the Lobos (4-0) with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds and tied LaTora Duff for the team high in assists with five. It is the second-straight game that De La Cerda has led the Lobos on the boards.
De La Cerda was one of five Lobos to finish in double figures in scoring, with Shaiquel McGruder turning in a team-high three steals and 15 points while grabbing six rebounds, and Ahlise Hurst and both LaTora and LaTascya Duff finishing with 13 points. Corina Carter was one point away from reaching double digits but was an efficient 4-for-5 from the floor and made her lone three-point attempt.
UNM got out to a blistering start, shooting 60 percent from the floor (12-of-20), including 50 percent (4-of-8) behind the arc for a 28-8 first quarter lead.
The Lobos started hot from three-point range, hitting three, three-pointers to allow UNM to create separation early with a 9-2 lead. Six-straight McGruder points pushed the lead to 15 (17-2) to cap an 11-0 Lobo run and the Lobos would continue to push the scoring pace with points in the paint to build the lead. The advantage grew to 20 on a LaTascya three that made it 26-6 with 90 seconds remaining in the quarter before both teams would exchange jump shots to close the frame.
De La Cerda led the way with seven points in the opening quarter after starting a perfect 3-for-3, while adding three assists and two rebounds to her stat line.
The Lobo defense stymied the Wolf Pack in the first quarter, holding Nevada (4-2) to just three made baskets and 0-for-3 on three-point attempts. It is the third time this season that the Lobos have held their opponent to below 10 points in the opening quarter.
A Hurst three and a McGruder fast-break layup off of a steal expanded the margin to 24 at 40-16 in favor of the Lobos in the second quarter and a 9-0 run on a Carter three, and fast-break layups by McGruder and LaTora created the largest lead to that point at 47-18 before the quarter would end with the Lobos in front 52-25.
McGruder matched her production in the second quarter to give the junior a team-high 12 points at the break, with the Lobos scoring 15 points on fast breaks and half of their halftime points in the paint.
Nevada would storm back immediately out of the break with the first six points of the third quarter and took advantage of offensive rebounds and three Lobo turnovers to close the gap to 16 points following an eventual 20-9 run that made it 61-45 with 2:29 left.
Hurst held the Wolf Pack from further momentum with two free throws and a fast-break three that pushed the margin back to above 20 points and De La Cerda closed the Lobo scoring with a layup before Nevada made two free throws to bring the quarter to a close with UNM ahead 68-50.
While Nevada outscored UNM 25-16 in the third quarter as the Lobos cooled down to make just six shots with two three-pointers, De La Cerda and Hurst kept UNM steady with De La Cerda as the most consistent shooter for the Lobos in the third quarter, going 3-for-5 from the floor while also accounting for both Lobo assists.
A Wolf Pack layup within the first minute of the final quarter once again brought the lead down to 16 points, but it was the closest Nevada would get for the remainder of the game as the Lobos got back to what brought them success earlier in the game, creating easy scoring opportunities with layups as well as making threes in the final 10 minutes.
In the fourth quarter, UNM went 4-for-7 from behind the arc with De La Cerda, LaTora and McGruder perfect from three-point range. UNM finished with a season-high 46.7 three-point shooting percentage, making 14 of 30 attempts.
A Kath van Bennekom jump shot would be the final Lobo points on the afternoon before Nevada closed the scoring with the final four points before time expired.
UNM remains in Reno to face Nevada for the final game of the series, set for Saturday at 1 p.m. PT/ 2 p.m. MT.
POSTGAME NOTES
- With Thursday’s win in its Mountain West opener, UNM is 4-1 under head coach Mike Bradbury in conference openers.
- The Lobos now hold a 13-5 series lead over the Wolf Pack and break the two-game losing streak to Nevada.
- UNM started the same five players for the fourth-straight game: Antonia Anderson, Jaedyn De La Cerda, LaTora Duff, Ahlise Hurst, Shaiquel McGruder
- Thursday’s game was the third game this season that the Lobos have led from start to finish
- De La Cerda and both LaTora and LaTascya Duff have scored in double figures in all four games this season.
- De La Cerda tallied 20-plus points for the second time this season following Thursday’s 21-point performance.
- UNM made 14 three-pointers in the game, going a season-high 46.7% from behind the arc.
- It is the third game in which the Lobos have made 10-plus threes.
- UNM entered the game leading the nation in made threes per game with 12.7.
- For comparison, Nevada made just four on 15 attempts.
- De La Cerda led the Lobos in scoring (21 points), rebounds (nine) and tied for the team-high in assists (five)
- Nevada entered the contest leading the Mountain West with 21 blocked shots, but UNM held a 3-1 edge in that category.
- For the first time this season, the Lobos scored less than 90 points in the game