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Seniors Excel as Lobos Defeat UNLV

LAS VEGAS, Nev.— Behind a career-high 29 points for Antonia Anderson and 28 points from Jaedyn De La Cerda, the two University of New Mexico seniors propelled the Lobos to an 81-73 win over UNLV on Sunday afternoon.

The Lobo offense flowed through Anderson in the first quarter, with the Texas native outscoring the Lady Rebels after going a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor and 2-for-2 from three-point range with a made free throw on her only attempt for 17 points. UNLV scored just 13 points as a team in the opening quarter.

Anderson went on to make her first eight shots and first three-point attempts, her first miss coming on a three-point shot that LaTascya Duff cleaned up the rebound and put it back up for the basket. That would prove to be her only miss of the first two quarters as the senior forward went 3-for-4 overall and 2-for-3 from three in the second for another eight points. The Lobo already had a career high by the half, going 10-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-5 from distance for 25 points.

Both teams were slow to find their rhythm early in the Mountain West contest, with the first basket coming 2:01 into the game. The Lady Rebels gained a four-point advantage at 13-9 before the Lobos tied the game and continued to close the quarter on an 8-0 run for the 21-13 lead.

The run continued into the second quarter with two De La Cerda layups that made it 25-13 (an eventual 16-0 run) before the Lady Rebels scored the next four points to bring the gap back into single digits. A 7-0 run midway through the quarter stretched UNM’s lead to 16 at 35-19 and the Lobos would go into the break up by 16, 45-29.

Through the first 20 minutes, the Lobos were shooting 50 percent from the floor (18-for-36) and just 27.8 percent from three (5-for-18), while UNLV shot just 32.3 percent from the floor and 10.0 percent from three.

The third quarter was De La Cerda’s time to take over, with the New Mexico native going a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and 4-for-4 from three-point range for 14 points.

LaTora Duff added six points on 2-of-4 shooting from behind the arc, with the two accounting for all 20 of UNM’s points in the third and six three-pointers. The duo outscored UNLV 20-17 out of the break, as the Lobos pushed the lead up to their largest spread of the game at 23 (65-42) with 1:37 remaining in the quarter.

Duff was the third Lobo to finish in double figures, closing the game with 15 points.

UNLV attempted to make a comeback in the fourth, pressing its way to a quick 8-0 run, causing a timeout by the Lobos at 65-54 with a little over eight minutes left. An Ahlise Hurst steal that turned into an Anderson jumper ended the run, but the Lady Rebels used a 4-0 run to cut the lead to nine with 5:36 left.

The Lobo seniors countered with a layup and jumper to bring the cushion back to 13 and a pair of De La Cerda free throws with 59 seconds showing on the clock made it a 14-point game at 78-64.

The Lady Rebels made two threes to tighten the game at 78-70, but a free throw by Shaiquel McGruder and two Hurst free throws down the stretch kept the Lobo lead intact.

De La Cerda closed the game with seven points in the fourth behind 2-for-3 shooting and going 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, with Anderson putting up a final four points on 2-for-3 shooting.

In addition to leading the Lobos in points, Anderson brought down a team-high eight rebounds and accounted for two assists and a block. Hurst contributed a game-high four steals and team-high five assists along with a block, while McGruder led the team with two blocks.

After making just five three-pointers through the first two quarters, the Lobos finished with 12 made threes, shooting 34.3 percent from beyond the arc.

With the win, the Lobos improved to 6-1 on the season and 3-1 in the Mountain West, while UNLV fell to 5-6, 3-3 in the MW.

POSTGAME NOTES

  • Following Sunday’s win, the Lobos are now 26-38 against UNLV.
  • The Lobos started Antonia Anderson, LaTora Duff, Jaedyn De La Cerda and Shaiquel McGruder for the seventh time this season.
  • De La Cerda and Anderson combined for 57 points and 13 rebounds.
  • The Lobos had three players finish in double figures with LaTora Duff registering 15 points.
  • UNM outscored UNLV in the first three quarters.
  • The Lobos finished with 12 made three-pointers, the fifth time this season making 10-plus threes.
    • De La Cerda led the team with five, Anderson made four and LaTora made three
    • The four three-pointers were a career high for Anderson
  • Anderson finished with a career-high 29 points, with a career-high 12 made field goals on a career-high 17 attempts
  • McGruder finished with two blocks, the third time this season with multiple blocks in a game.
  • 24 of UNM’s points came off of turnovers, 32 came in the paint.
  • UNM’s largest lead was 23 with 1:37 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
  • UNM went on a 16-0 run that turned a 13-9 deficit into a 25-13 lead and extended from the 3:43 mark of the 1st quarter to the 8:55 mark of the 2nd quarter.
  • Sunday was the fifth time this season that the Lobos have scored 80 or more points.