Reus, De La Cerda Win MW Weekly Awards
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Following a week in which the Lobos averaged 91 points per game and went 2-0 with a scoring margin of 23.5 points, the Lobo women’s basketball team can add two more wins as Paula Reus and Jaedyn De La Cerda were named Mountain West Freshman and Player of the Week, respectively.
Monday’s announcement marks the second of the season for both Reus and De La Cerda. Further, it marks the second time in three weeks that a Lobo has been named player of the week and the second time in five weeks that Reus has won freshman of the week.
De La Cerda led the Lobos in scoring in both games, scoring 21 points in the win against Utah State and 20 points in the win against Boise State. In addition, the New Mexico native shot 60.9 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from three-point range, finished the week with 12 assists, a 6.0 assist/turnover ratio and three steals.
In Wednesday’s game against the Aggies, De La Cerda scored six points in the opening quarter, which included a jumper that put the Lobos up 16-13, had an assist on the basket that made it 18-17 and a layup off of an offensive rebound that made it 20-19 Lobos. In the second quarter, De La Cerda had a personal 8-0 run on a floater that put UNM up 26-24 and hit a three-pointer on the next two Lobo possessions to make it 32-24. She scored 10 points alone in the second quarter against the Aggies on 3-for-3 shooting from the floor (2-for-2 from three), outscoring USU alone with the Aggies scoring just 7 points in the quarter. Beyond just scoring, De La Cerda contributed with three assists in the third quarter, finishing with a game-high five in the game. The Lobo didn’t play the entire fourth quarter, but scored a game-high 21 points in 27 minutes.
On Saturday, De La Cerda nearly matched her point production with a game-high 20 points and added a game-high seven assists in the win against Boise State. De La Cerda was sharp from the start of the game, scoring the first points of the game just 15 seconds in and had a personal 5-0 run in the first quarter that made it 14-4 Lobos. Her impact continued throughout the quarter, assisting on a Reus three-pointer that made it 17-8 and on the next possession, created a steal that led to three-pointer in transition that made it 20-8 Lobos. She had nine points alone in the first quarter on 3-for-4 shooting, and added three assists and a steal. Among her points on Saturday, the highlight on senior day may have been her step-back three-pointer in the corner as time expired in the third quarter that made it 70-44 Lobos. De La Cerda played just 3:42 in the fourth quarter before subbing out, but still tallied three assists.
Reus averaged 14.5 points on the week, scoring 12 points against Utah State and 17 points against Boise State, shooting 57.1 percent from the floor, while also having two steals and three blocks. The freshman had two blocks and two steals in the win against Utah State and one block in the win against Boise State and scored the second-most points on the team against BSU.
The Palma de Mallorca, Spain, native opened Saturday’s game with five points in the first quarter and added six points in the third quarter against the Broncos, with all three baskets in the third quarter giving UNM a 23-point lead. She scored the first four points for the Lobos in the fourth quarter against BSU, and had a memorable sequence more than midway through the fourth, recording a block at the 4:30 mark, a defensive rebound at the 4:08 mark and took it end-to-end for a jumper that put UNM up 85-55.
Reus had timely baskets for the Lobos in Wednesday’s win against Utah State, but was just as impactful for the Lobos on the defensive end.
Her first points against USU put the Lobos up 18-17 and then when it was 20-19 Lobos, grabbed a defensive rebound to keep the Lobos in front. Late in the first quarter, Reus made a layup to put UNM up 22-19 and again made an impact on the other end with a block. In the third quarter, Reus had a steal and fast-break layup that put UNM 71-45 and finished with six points, an assist and a steal in the quarter. Reus had her second block of the game in the fourth quarter and also added a steal and fast-break layup that made it 86-52, the largest lead of the game for UNM.
With Reus’ and De La Cerda’s honor, the Lobos have now won four player of the week honors and three freshman of the week honors this season for a conference-high seven selections.
The Lobos (22-7, 13-3 MW) close the MW regular season on the road against Fresno State on Wednesday, Feb. 23 and San José State on Friday, Feb. 25.