Late Washington Run Ends UNM’s Season in WNIT Second Round
SEATTLE, Wash.— The Lobos outscored Washington 22-9 in the second quarter and 17-12 in the third quarter to take a 48-41 lead into the fourth, but the Huskies went on a 7-0 run to start the fourth and a 10-0 run midway through to win 67-56.
Viané Cumber was sensational from behind the arc, making six to finish with a game-high 20 points. Sunday marked the second game this season that the sophomore made six, with the other instance against Western New Mexico, when she finished with her season high of 22 points.
Amaya Brown finished in double figures for the third-straight game and fourth time in the last five, scoring 11 points that included two three-pointers, and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
As a team, the Lobos finished with 10 three-pointers, just the second team this season that has made 10 three-pointers against the Huskies (Oregon State also made 10).
Aniyah Augmon led with a game- and career-high six assists and Shaiquel McGruder finished with a game-high four blocks, three steals, eight points and four rebounds in her final game as a Lobo. It was her 18th game this season with multiple blocks and her third with four, and her 19th game this season with multiple steals and her sixth game with three.
The Huskies scored first five points before Paula Reus put Lobos on the board and two Augmon free throws pulled the Lobos within one three minutes into the game. After a Cumber layup made it 7-6 in favor of UW, the Huskies used a 5-0 run to gain some separation and closed the quarter on an 8-1 run to lead 20-9.
A 6-0 personal run by Brown on back-to-back three-pointers brought the Lobos within five at 20-15 2:30 into the second quarter, however the Huskies built their lead back to 10 points at 25-15. The Lobos got the points right back and then some, starting with a Reus jumper and consecutive Cumber threes that made it a one-possession game at 25-23. The run continued with a McGruder block that led to a fast-break layup by Brown to tie the game in what amounted to a 10-0 UNM run. A Cumber three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining in the quarter gave UNM its first lead at 31-29 as the Lobos closed on a 6-0 run over the last 1:18 of the quarter and made six of their last eight shots in the quarter.
UNM outscored UW 22-9 in the second quarter using six three-pointers (three by Cumber) and outshot the Huskies 53.3% to 28.6% to take the lead into the break. Cumber (nine points) and Brown (eight points) accounted for five of the three-pointers with Reus making one.
Reus opened the scoring with a jumper 21 seconds into the frame but the Huskies scored the next four points to tie the game at 33. A McGruder layup followed by a Cumber three put the Lobos in front 38-33, with the lead growing to 10 at 47-37 with 1:53 left in the third following a three-pointer by Nia Johnson and a steal and layup by Brown. The Huskies chipped away at the lead to get it down to six before the quarter came to an end on a free throw by Brown for the 48-41 Lobo lead.
UNM again had the advantage in the quarter, outscoring UW 17-12 and outshooting the Huskies 58.3% to 11.8%.
A 7-0 Washington run tied the game at 48, with Cumber responding with a three-pointer. UW answered with a three-pointer to create another tie and proceeded to go on a 10-0 run for a 58-51 lead with 4:09 left. The margin was eight with 1:09 with the Huskies closing with three free throws for the final score.
The Lobos conclude their season 21-13 overall.