ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—It’s conference season time and the Lobos open in a big way, on a national stage against Air Force on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network, the first of two MW nationally televised games that will feature the Lobos in the regular season.
UNM enters conference 8-5 and has won seven of its last nine games. Air Force enters 6-7 overall and 1-0 in conference after beating Utah State on Thursday night, 77-63. The Lobos are 5-1 in conference openers under Coach Mike Bradbury, but Sunday will be just the second time in Bradbury’s tenure that the Lobos open conference at home. The other time was in the 2018-19 season, a 78-57 win over Air Force on Jan. 2.
Sunday’s game will be a defensive battle as both teams enter as the top-two teams in the Mountain West in steals per game. Air Force has 170 steals in 13 games for an average of 13.08, while UNM has 149 through 13 games for an average of 11.46. In addition, the two teams have the top-two conference leaders in steals in Air Force’s Kamri Heath, who leads with 34 steals (2.62 per game), and UNM’s Shaiquel McGruder, who is closely behind at 33 steals (2.54 per game).
On the offensive side, Air Force has three players averaging double figures, led by Heath at 15.6 ppg, who is also shooting 45.6% from the floor. For UNM, McGruder paces the Lobo offense with 14.7 ppg and is shooting a conference-best 65.9% and is joined in double figures by LaTascya Duff at 13.1 ppg. Heath and McGruder are third and fourth in the conference in scoring, respectively, while first (McGruder) and fifth (Heath) in the conference in field-goal percentage.
Both teams have also been tested in non-conference competition, with the Falcons playing five Power 5 opponents and the Lobos playing three Power 5 opponents.
Historically, UNM is 46-4 all-time against Air Force, 23-1 at home.
IDENTITY THEFT
The Lobos have recorded 10 or more steals in nine games this season, recording a total of 149 for an average of 11.5 per game. UNM is 20th in the NCAA in steals per game and 6-3 in games with 10 or more steals.
UNM recorded double-digit steals in its first seven games and had a season-high 19 against Western New Mexico, 16 against Southern Utah and three games with 14 (NMSU, Nicholls and Old Dominion) and two games with 12 (Texas A&M-Commerce and NMSU). The Lobos had 11 against Arizona State and 10 against Houston.
Shaiquel McGruder (33) leads the team in steals, with LaTascya Duff (26), Amaya Brown (22) and LaTora Duff (20) all over 20. McGruder is averaging 2.5 steals per game, LaTascya at 2.2 steals per game and Brown and LaTora at 1.7 steals per game.
Seven Lobos have had multiple steals in multiple games. LaTascya has recorded at least one steal in every game she has played in but one with multiple steals in seven, including two games with five. LaTora has recorded at least one steal in nine games with multiple steals in seven. McGruder has had at least one steal in 11 games with multiple steals in 10 games that includes four games with four and a game with five. McGruder has finished with four steals in three of the last five games and multiple steals in the last five games. Vianè Cumber has recorded multiple steals in four games, Brown has recorded multiple steals in six games with at least one steal in 11, Nia Johnson has had two games with multiple steals and Paula Reus has had three games with multiple steals and eight games with at least one.
The Lobos have two players in the top 10 in the MW in steals per game, led by McGruder second and LaTascya (tied for fifth). Brown is 11th and LaTora is 12th. Nationally, McGruder is 31st in steals and 46th in steals per game.
THREE FALLING
UNM built an identity last season as a three-point shooting team, and this year’s team is trying to reclaim that identity.
The Lobos have finished with 10-plus three-pointers in five games this season with a season-high 18 against South Carolina State, while shooting a season-high 46.2%. The 18 tied for the third most in a game in program history, only behind 19 and 21 the Lobos made last season against Colorado State and Utah State, respectively. In the last two games, UNM has made 30 three-pointers combined.
UNM made 12 against Mississippi State, 11 against Texas A&M-Commerce, and 10 against both Arizona State and Southern Utah.
UNM is averaging 8.9 made three-pointers per game with 43.9 percent of UNM’s shot attempts three-pointers. The Lobos are shooting 32.0% from three with 116 makes. LaTascya Duff leads the Lobos with 39 made three-pointers, and is making 3.3 per game and 10 games of multiple three-pointers including the last seven games. Vianè Cumber is second with 24 made three-pointers, averaging 2.0 per game with seven games with multiple three-pointers including the last four games. In the last four games, Cumber has made four three-pointers in three of them, while going 2-2 in the other.
FINDING OTHER WAYS TO SCORE
While UNM has had five games with 10-plus three-pointers, the Lobos are actually 2-3 in those games. The Lobos are 4-0 when making exactly nine (Western New Mexico, Nicholls, New Mexico State and Old Dominion) and won against Houston when only making two three-pointers.
The Lobos are shooting 42.3 percent from the floor this season and 50.3% (233-463) when excluding three-point attempts. The Lobos are 6-2 when shooting .400 or better and have shot .400 or better in eight of the last 10 games, including a season-high 54.8% in the last game against South Carolina State.
BALANCED ATTACK
UNM has had six different leading scorers this season in LaTascya Duff, Amaya Brown, LaTora Duff, Vianè Cumber, Shaiquel McGruder and Paula Reus.
McGruder led the Lobos in scoring five times, scoring 24 against Arizona State, 23 against Abilene Christian and South Carolina State and 16 against NMSU and Old Dominion. She has led the Lobos in scoring in four of the last five games.
McGruder has reached double digits in 11 games this season and three games with 20 points, scoring 13, 11, 11, 24, 14, 10, 15, 23, 16, 16 and 23 and LaTascya Duff has scored in double figures in nine games including six of the last seven and twice reached 20 points (20, 10, 16, 20, 10, 19, 12, 14). LaTora has scored double figures in six games with 13, 14, 13, 13, 15.and 11 and Brown has reached double figures in six games (16, 11, 10, 15, 10, 13). Reus has scored in double figures in six games and in five of the last six games (18, 14, 11, 11, 11, 13) and Cumber in five games (22, 15, 15, 17, 16), three times in the last four games.
IN EXCLUSIVE COMPANY
Shaiquel McGruder currently has 1173 points and 724 rebounds, ranking her 14th all-time in points and 58 away from a tie for 12th. When it comes to rebounds, McGruder is 10th in program history and is five away from ninth and 16 from eighth. If McGruder matches her production from last season, the Lobo could climb into the top 10 in scoring.
McGruder also has 148 career blocks, fifth all-time and one from fourth. Her 191 career steals ranks her tied for fourth all-time.
During her career, McGruder is shooting a program-best .610 from the floor and scored 73 points as a freshman, 215 points as a sophomore, 182 as a junior and 512 points last season. She’s scored 191 points this season and is shooting 65.9%.
Among MW players, McGruder is in the top 10 in scoring (fourth), rebounds (fourth) and steals (second) and leads the conference in field-goal percentage and blocks. Nationally, she is ninth in field-goal percentage, sixth in blocks and in blocks per game.
McGruder is the only MW player in the top 10 in points, rebounds, blocks and steals and as aforementioned also leads the conference in shooting percentage.
TRIPLE THREAT TAY
There is no one better in the MW and very few better in the country when it comes to three-pointers than LaTascya Duff.
The South Carolina State game was the 50th career game at UNM for LaTascya Duff with multiple three-pointers and the Nicholls game was the 16th time that Duff has scored 20 or more points as a Lobo.
She currently has a career three-point percentage of .403, third all-time in program history, and 188 career three-pointers, fourth all-time in program history, seven away from third and 33 away from tying the program record.
The super senior leads the MW in three-point field-goal percentage at .355, in three-pointers per game at 3.3 and made three-pointers (39). Nationally, she is fifth in the NCAA in three-pointers per game and 12th in three-pointers.
UP NEXT
The Lobos head to the road to face Wyoming (Jan. 5) and Colorado State (Jan. 7).