UNM Handles ULM in 21-Point Victory
KATY, Texas— For the second game in-a-row, Jaedyn De La Cerda led the Lobos in scoring, finishing with 15 points, but there was no fourth quarter comeback required as New Mexico cruised to a 66-45 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night.
De La Cerda was one of three Lobos to finish in double figures, with LaTascya Duff finding her points from beyond the arc with four three-pointers for 12 points and Viané Cumber accounting for 10 points in the third quarter. De La Cerda also led with a game- and season-high five assists, with Shaiquel McGruder registering her second 10-plus rebound game of the season with a season-high 11 rebounds and two points shy of a double-double, while also creating a game-high three steals.
Offensively, UNM scored 20-plus points in two quarters, while defensively the Lobos held the Warhawks to below 10 points in two quarters and below 20 points in all four quarters.
While the Lobos had three double-digit scorers, the Warhawks had zero, the first time the Lobos held an opponent without a double-digit scorer since Stephen F. Austin back on Dec. 20, 2018.
The Lobos made a season-high 12 three-pointers in the contest, led by Duff’s four, with De La Cerda making three and LaTora Duff and Cumber making two each. Antonia Anderson extended her streak of making a three-pointer with one made three to nine straight games dating back to last season. De La Cerda’s streak has reached 10 games and LaTascya also at nine games.
Three-pointers aided the Lobos in gaining control in the first quarter, first with De La Cerda breaking a 4-all tie on a three, followed by an Anderson three, another De La Cerda three and a LaTascya three that made up the 9-0 run to put the Lobos up by 10 at 16-6. Another LaTascya three provide the final Lobo points in the quarter, with UNM leading 21-9 through the first 10 minutes.
The Lobos made five three-pointers in the opening quarter, shooting 45.5 percent from distance and 50 percent from the floor, while the Warhawks missed their only three-point attempt and shot 28.6 percent from the floor.
McGruder, De La Cerda and LaTascya all contributed six points to the team total with Anderson adding the final three points.
Another LaTascya three opened the second quarter scoring, pushing the lead to 15 before ULM cut the margin down to 11. UNM again used a three-pointer to stop the score from getting any closer, with LaTora getting in the scoring column with a shot from behind the arc. Louisiana-Monroe closed within 10 points with 1:34 remaining in the second, but the Lobos recorded the final four points in the frame on a De La Cerda layup and a McGruder putback with 23 seconds left for the 31-17 halftime score. It was the lowest scoring quarter for both teams, although UNM did outscore ULM 10-8 to maintain its lead.
LaTascya again opened the scoring for the Lobos out of the break to extend the lead to 17, with the lead extending to 19 on a LaTora three a little more than halfway through the third quarter. A Zeyno Seren steal that led to a Paula Reus fast-break layup pushed UNM’s lead to 20 at 47-27 and the Lobos went on to score four more points on consecutive Cumber jumpers for a 51-34 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Cumber scored all 10 of her points in the third quarter on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor and 2-for-3 from three-point range to lead all scorers in the quarter.
Starting the fourth quarter, De La Cerda scored the first seven points of the quarter for the Lobos for her final points of the game, and a Mackenzie Curtis jumper pushed the lead to the largest margin of the game at 23 with 3:23 remaining in the game. ULM trimmed it back down to 18 before the Lobos closed with the final three points of the game on a Rebeka Renczes free-throw and a Nevaeh Parkinson putback for the 66-45 final score.
UNM improves to 5-2 on the season and is set to conclude the Van Chancellor Classic on Sunday against Texas Tech (5-1) at 4 p.m. CT/ 3 p.m. MT.