Lobos Make 14 Three-Pointers in 95-54 Win Against Skyhawks
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The Lobo women’s basketball team made their first four shots of the game and their first five three-point attempts in Thursday night’s final exhibition of the season against Fort Lewis in the 95-54 win.
The threes were falling early and often for New Mexico, with the Lobos finishing with 14 in the game, with seven different players making at least one and five with multiple three-pointers. LaTascya Duff and LaTora Duff each made three, with LaTora going 3-for-3 and LaTascya 3-for-4 on the night.
Three Lobos finished in double figures, led by LaTora with 13, LaTascya with 12 and Viané Cumber, who had 10 points off of the bench with two made three-pointers. Shaiquel McGruder was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor, finishing with nine points and Kath van Bennekom and Jaelyn Bates each contributed eight points.
Paula Reus opened the scoring with a three-pointer and LaTora hit back-to-back threes on the next two Lobo possessions as UNM got out to an early 9-2 lead in the first 1:20. A McGruder layup extended the lead to nine 24 seconds later, with the Lobo lead extending to 19 at 26-7 behind a 13-0 run that included two-straight three-pointers by LaTascya,a three from Cumber, a jumper by Amaya Brown and a layup from LaTora off of a LaTascya steal. The Skyhawks briefly cut into the lead, but a Cumber three-pointer with 22 seconds left in the first closed the opening quarter with a 17-point UNM advantage at 29-12.
UNM made seven three-pointers in the first 10 minutes, shooting 77.8% from behind the arc. Of the 11 made baskets, 10 of them were assisted, with Reus leading with four assists.
The lead stretched to 25 at the beginning of the second quarter with van Bennekom, Hulda Joaquim and Bates aiding in an 8-0 run in the first two minutes. The lead remained in the 20-plus point range for the entirety of the second quarter with the Lobos taking a 45-23 lead into the break.
Bates led with five points in the quarter with van Bennekom and Aniyah Augmon creating two steals apiece.
UNM’s lead continued to build as the game progressed in the final 20 minutes as the Lobos outscored the Skyhawks 28-18 in the third quarter and 22-13 in the fourth quarter for the 95-54 final score. The Lobos scored 50 points in the third and fourth quarters combined, led by seven by McGruder and six each by Mackenzie Curtis (on two three-pointers) and LaTascya.
The Lobos open their regular season on Monday, Nov. 7 at Southern Utah, with tip set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
POSTGAME NOTES:
-The Lobos led in points from turnovers (36-13), points in the paint (36-20), second-chance points (15-7), fast-break points (29-5) and bench points (50-24).
-UNM finished with 14 steals and five blocks with LaTascya Duff finishing with four steals and Aniyah Augmon, Kath van Bennekom, Shaiquel McGruder with two each.
-The Lobos held the Skyhawks leading scorer and rebounder Kelsey Sorenson to six points and one rebound.