Lobos Lead From Start to Finish in Defeat of Huskies

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The Lobo women’s basketball team scored early and often in Tuesday’s contest against Houston Baptist in a 76-58 victory that was never truly in doubt.

Four Lobos again scored in double figures, led by Shaiquel McGruder’s 20 points, followed by Jaedyn De La Cerda with 17 and Antonia Anderson and LaTora Duff with 11 each. McGruder led on the boards with 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season, and registered two steals and two blocks against the Huskies. Anderson finished with a game-high four blocks and three steals and De La Cerda and Duff each had four assists to lead the Lobos.

De La Cerda opened the scoring as the Lobos got out to a 16-0 lead with Houston Baptist held scoreless for almost the first eight minutes of the game, scoring its first basket at 2:01. It was the only basket of the quarter for the Huskies, with the Lobos leading 23-2 after the first 10 minutes. De La Cerda already close to double figures with nine points, followed by McGruder with six.

New Mexico went on a pair of runs in the second quarter that further distanced the Lobos. An 11-0 Lobo run that entailed layups by Duff, De La Cerda and Anderson and a LaTascya Duff three expanded the lead and a 13-0 run towards the end of the quarter pushed the Lobo lead to 29 at 43-14. HBU made two free throws to end the run for the 43-16 halftime score.

De La Cerda led with 15 points and McGruder with 12 at the break, with McGruder going 5-of-6 from the floor with five rebounds, two steals and two blocks through the first half. A major storyline in the first 20 minutes were the 12 Lobo steals, with Paula Reus and Anderson credited with three each, and 13 points coming off of turnovers. Anderson also added three blocks in the first two quarters, with Reus accounting for two to go along with McGruder’s two.

Of note, all five starters accounted for the 43-point total in the first half.

Houston Baptist got the Lobo lead down to 19 in the third quarter, but UNM answered with a 9-3 run that stretched the lead up to 27 points at 58-31. Although the Huskies finished the quarter on a 7-0 run, the Lobos still led 60-40 through three quarters.

Viané Cumber was the first bench player to enter the scoring column with a three-pointer to open the fourth quarter, which opened the barrage of threes with made three-pointers by Duff, and Rebeka Renczes for her first points as a Lobo. A final three by Renczes provided the final Lobo points before HBU scored the final four points for the 58-76 final.

McGruder added eight points and five rebounds to her stat totals in the second half with Duff closely behind with seven on 3-for-5 shooting, one block and two steals.

UNM finished with a total of 16 steals and 10 blocks with 24 fast-break points and 19 points off of turnovers.

The Lobos improved to 4-1 on the season and have a tough stretch ahead of them with three games in three days, starting with Friday against Stephen F. Austin at the Van Chancellor Classic in Katy, Texas. The start time for Friday is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. MT.

POSTGAME NOTES

New Mexico is now 4-0 vs. Houston Baptist

New Mexico now leads 4-0 in Albuquerque

TEAM NOTES

• New Mexico repeated a starting line-up for the first time this season, going with LaTora Duff, LaTascya Duff, Jaedyn De La Cerda, Shai McGruder and Antonia Anderson.  That is the line-up that started game three against Prairie View A&M.
• New Mexico opened the game on a 16-0 run, not allowing a point until a Marilyn Nzoiwu basket with 2:01 left in the first quarter.  It marked the second time this season UNM held an opponent scoreless for the first seven -plus minutes of the game. Lamar scored its first basket with 2:45 left in the first quarter.
• Neither team missed a free throw until there was 1:12 left in the game when Houston Baptist’s Naomi Pierce missed the second of her two. UNM was 6-for-6 and Houston Baptist was 13-for-13 to that point, finishing 13-of-14.
• New Mexico’s 10 turnovers were a season-low, besting the previous low-mark of 15, set twice in each of the first two games.
• New Mexico has made 20 of its last 21 free throws going back to November 16, 2021, covering nine quarters.
• The Lobos are now outscoring their opponents 109-64 in the opening quarter.
• New Mexico didn’t get a bench point until the fourth quarter.
• The Lobos have scored the first points of the game and of the third quarter in every game this season.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES 

• Shaiquel McGruder followed up a zero-point game against Houston with a 20-point effort. McGruder now owns the top two scoring games this season with a 30-point effort against Prairie View A&M and her 20 tonight.
  McGruder recorded her seventh career double-digit rebound game, but just her second career double-double. Her other was a 17-point, 13-rebound effort against Sam Houston State on 12/6/20.
• Rebeka Renczes hit a fourth quarter three-pointer for the first points of her career. She finished with six.
• Jaedyn De La Cerda scored 17 points, her fourth time in double-figures in five games.  De La Cerda now has 980 career points.
• Antonia Anderson went 1-for-3 from three, extending her run of games with a three-pointer to seven dating back to last season.
• Paula Reus had season highs in blocks (two) and steals (steals).