Reus Leads Lobos Past Lions
COMMERCE, Texas— Four Lobos finished in double figures, led by 18 points from Paula Reus that included 10 in the fourth quarter, as New Mexico defeated Texas A&M-Commerce 78-71 on Saturday afternoon.
LaTora Duff and Viané Cumber each totaled 15 points with Shaiquel McGruder adding 10 points, with a portion of their points coming from behind the arc as Reus made a career-high five three-pointers, Duff made three and Cumber made two.
Reus led on the boards as well with nine rebounds (tying her career high), and added four assists, two steals and a career-high three blocks. McGruder finished with four blocks, with Duff also recording a block for a team total of eight, the fourth consecutive game that the Lobos have tallied six or more blocks.
The defense continued the trend of double-digit steals with 12 against the Lions, with two each by Reus, LaTascya Duff, LaTora and Cumber, and one each by Nia Johnson, Jaelyn Bates and McGruder.
Another trend that continued was that McGruder and LaTora have scored double figures in each of the games they’ve played in this season (six for McGruder and five for Duff).
Two free throws by Reus, a LaTora three-pointer and a Johnson steal and layup broke the 4-4 tie to put the Lobos in front 11-4, with the lead growing to 12 at 18-6 with 1:10 remaining in the first on a Johnson jumper off of a Reus offensive rebound.
The Lobos opened the game with five steals in the first quarter with five different players recording a steal, and the Lobos turning them into seven fast-break points, finishing with nine fast-break points in the quarter.
Texas A&M-Commerce cut the lead down to five before a fast-break layup from Hulda Joaquim and a fast-break three-pointer by Cumber restored the 10-point lead at 23-13 less than two minutes into the second. The Lions chipped into the lead, with the Lobos taking a 35-29 lead into the break.
Cumber led with eight points at the half behind two three-pointers and 3-4 shooting from the floor, with Johnson also 3-4 for six points.
A Reus three-pointer and McGruder layup extended UNM’s lead to 11 1:15 seconds into the third, and after the Lions cut the lead down to four at 40-36, UNM again answered with a 5-0 run on a Joaquim layup and LaTora transition three-pointer. However, the Lions went on a run of their own with a 16-2 run to take a 51-47 lead and held a 54-49 lead at the end of the third.
The start of the fourth quarter was all Reus, as the Lobo forward assisted on a McGruder layup and then hit three-straight three-pointers from the top of the arc to give UNM the 60-54 lead. The Lions cut the margin to two twice, but each time the Lobos scored on the other end to keep it a two-possession game.
A Cumber layup pushed the lead back to six at 68-62 with 4:13 left in the game, to which the Lions used a 6-0 run to even the score at 68 with 1:57 left. A LaTascya layup gave the Lobos the lead back and a McGruder steal led to a LaTora three-pointer with under a minute remaining to create some final separation. While Reus was the catalyst at the start of the quarter, LaTora was the closer, hitting two free throws to extend the lead to seven, and although the Lions made a three-pointer to narrow the lead to four, LaTora made two free throws and Cumber split a pair to seal the game.
LaTora scored seven points in the final minute and UNM closed on a 10-3 run in the final 1:57, outscoring the Lions 29-17 in the final quarter to get the road win and move to 3-3 on the season.
The Lobos remain on the road to travel to Nicholls to face the Colonels on Tuesday afternoon.