Lobos Roll to 17-Point Victory Over Lamar to Open Season

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Shaiquel McGruder opened the 2021-22 season with a three-pointer on New Mexico’s first possession, and from there, the Lobos raced out to an 8-0 advantage and never trailed in the eventual 71-54 victory over Lamar on Tuesday night.

Antonia Anderson set the tone early with an and-one and a driving layup to go along with McGruder’s three, and when the Cardinals answered with an 8-0 run of their own to tie the game, it was freshman Aniyah Augmon who stepped up to provide the spark off of the bench.

A personal 5-0 Augmon run that entailed a fast-break layup, a steal and a three-pointer, followed by a Kath van Bennekom offensive rebound and putback kept the Lobos in front at 15-8. Lamar, however, held close, closing to within two at the end of the first quarter at 17-15.

Anderson and Augmon each finished with five points in the first, with Augmon a perfect 2-for-2 from the floor, and Anderson creating two steals and recording a block.

Lamar opened the second quarter with a basket to tie the game, but three free throws restored the Lobo lead, which stretched to seven at 27-20 on a van Bennekom fast-break layup off of a Viané Cumber rebound. The margin held at seven at the half, with New Mexico leading 35-28.

Quiet in the first 20 minutes, Jaedyn De La Cerda found her shot in the third quarter, accounting for 14 of UNM’s 18 points in the quarter on 5-of-9 shooting and going 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, while the defense held the Cardinals to nine points in the quarter. Further, De La Cerda was the first of four Lobos to reach double figures in the contest.

A personal 9-0 scoring run by De La Cerda that included a steal and an and-one opportunity after finishing through contact on a fast-break layup pushed New Mexico to a 15-point lead at 48-33, and it was the Roswell, N.M., native that closed the quarter with a three-pointer for the 53-37 score.

UNM shot 53.8 percent from the floor while holding Lamar to 18.2 percent at 2-for-11 to build the double-digit lead.

The Cardinals got as close as 12 points on a three-pointer with 7:25 remaining in the game, but an Anderson three negated it and a McGruder fast-break layup provided the largest lead of the game for the Lobos at 17 points.

A final Anderson layup with seven seconds remaining put a close on the season opener, with Anderson adding seven points on 3-for-4 shooting to her night’s total and McGruder a perfect 4-for-4 for eight points in the final 10 minutes.

UNM finished with four scorers in double figures, led by Anderson’s game-high 16 points, followed by De La Cerda and McGruder at 15 each and LaTora Duff with 10. Duff was one assist shy of a double-double, tying her career high with nine assists, and nearly matching Lamar’s team total in assists as the Cardinals had 10 in the game. McGruder was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, one of two Lobos to go perfect from the floor.

Augmon had a full stat sheet with eight points (3-for-3 shooting), six rebounds (tying the team high) and three steals (a team high).

As a team, the Lobos had balanced scoring, scoring 18 points in three of the four quarters and 17 points in the first.

The Lobos (1-0) remain at home to host Northern New Mexico on Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.

Pre-game notes:

• Third ever meeting between UNM and Lamar
  • First since Dec. 20, 2017
  • Lobos now lead series 3-0
• First regular season game of the season for both teams
• UNM is undefeated in regular season openers under Mike Bradbury (now 6-0)
• UNM has now won nine consecutive home openers
• Mike Bradbury records:
  • At UNM: 95-55 (6th year)
  • Career: 273-172 (15th year)

In-game notes:

• UNM scored first eight points of game, first points of second half as well
• First Lamar points came at 7:15 remaining in first
• UNM had two first quarter runs of 8-0 and 7-0
• Three Lobos shot perfect from field in the first quarter: Augmon (2-for-2), McGruder (1-for-1), van Bennekom (1-for-1)
• Lobos forced five Lamar turnovers in the first quarter, six in the third quarter
• Lobos outscored Cardinals in all four quarters
• Two Lobos shot perfect from the field in the first half: Augmon (3-for-3, 8 points), McGruder (1-for-1, 3 points)
• De La Cerda first Lobo to double figures at 4:08 to go in the third quarter
• Four Lobos finished in double figures: Anderson (16), De La Cerda (15), McGruder (15), Duff (10)
• De La Cerda:
  • Third quarter: 5-for-9 in field goals, 1-for-2 three-pointers, 14 points
• De La Cerda is closing in on 1000 career points; started game at 893 and the finished game at 908
• Lobos shot 53.8% from the field in the third quarter to the Cardinals’ 18.2%
• Lobos led from 7:27 to go in the second quarter through rest of game
• Duff attempted the most threes in a game in her career (9) and matched her career high for assists in a game (9)
• Two Lobos shot perfect from the field in the game: McGruder (7-for-7, 15 points), Augmon (3-for-3, 8 points)
• Lobos improved their FG percentage to 45.6% for the game from 37.9% in first half
• First time the Cardinals shot under 50% from the free throw line since Jan. 11, 2020 (47.8%)