UNM Heads to California to Face Pepperdine Thursday
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The Lobos prepare for their first road trip of the season against Pepperdine on Thursday evening, with tip set for 6 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
Both teams enter the game 1-0 after UNM defeated Texas Southern on Monday night 76-59 and Pepperdine opened the season with a 63-58 win over UC Irvine at home on Tuesday.
Historically, UNM is 2-2 all-time against the Waves, but has never played Pepperdine in Malibu. The four meetings have all been closely contested with the largest margin of victory being 12, an 81-69 win for UNM. The other three meetings were within single digits.
THREE’S COMPANY
The trio of Viané Cumber, Aniyah Augmon and Nyah Wilson all scored in double figures in Monday’s season opener, accounting for 59 of UNM’s 76 points and matched Texas Southern’s total team point total.
Cumber took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 of her game-high 22 points in the final 10 minutes, while Wilson and Augmon were effective early, reaching double figures in the first 20 minutes to finish with a career-high 20 points and 17 points, respectively. Wilson and Augmon were also facilitators, with Augmon leading with a game- and career-high six assists and Wilson finishing with the second most on the team with three. Additionally, Wilson was 4-4 from three-point range with Cumber also making four.
It marked the first time that UNM had two 20-point scorers in a game since 2022, and was the third time this season that all three scored double-digit points.
THE CUMBER EFFECT
After Vianè Cumber entered the starting lineup against Colorado State on Jan. 26 last season, the Lobo scored double figures in nine of the games including four of the last five. The New Mexico native made six three-pointers and finished with 20 points in the last game of the season at Washington, her second game with 20 or more points last season.
Cumber picked right up in the first game of the 2023-24 season, tying her career high with 22 points that included four three-pointers. It was her 33rd career game making a three-pointer, 26th career game with multiple three-pointers, her 12th career game making four or more three-pointers and her eighth-straight game with at least one.
When taking into account the exhibitions, Cumber has scored in double figures in all three games, scoring 16 points in both exhibitions, and when combined with Monday’s stat line, she’s led the Lobos in scoring in all three games.
In three years, Cumber has scored in double figures 20 times and 20 or more points three times.
WHAT A DEBUT FOR WILSON
Nyah Wilson made quite the first impression in her first true game as a Lobo, finishing with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal. The Dallas, Texas, native went 5-8 from the floor, but was a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc and nearly perfect at the free-throw line going 6-7.
Her 20 points set a career high, as did her five made field goals, her four made three-pointers and four attempts, her six made free throws and her seven attempts. The 32 minutes was also a career high.
Further, her 20 points were more than half of her season totals that she scored in each of her two years at Syracuse, scoring 36 points her freshman season and 32 points her sophomore season.
Wilson scored seven points in the first quarter, reaching doube figures on a three-pointer with 3:39 remaining in the second quarter that doubled UNM’s lead at 28-14.
NOT LIKE LAST YEAR’S LOBOS
The Lobos showcased a different look from the makeup of last year’s roster.
While the lineup in the season opener featured five upperclassmen in four juniors and a graduate transfer, it also featured two newcomers in Charlotte Kohl and Nyah Wilson and a new starting point guard in Aniyah Augmon, who had started three games entering this season.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE
Pepperdine opened the season with a 63-58 win over UC Irvine at home on Tuesday. Myra Gordon led with 17 points, joined in double figures by Addi Melone at 11 points, while Jane Nwaba led on the boards with 11 rebounds. Gordon also led with five assists and five steals.
The Waves went 11-19 season last season, finishing ninth in the West Coast Conference, and feature 10 new players on this year’s roster.
Nwaba is Pepperdine’s top returning scorer (9.3 points per game) and rebounder (6.1 per game) and is also Pepperdine’s only returning starter from last season.
UP NEXT: Following Thursday’s game, the Lobos host Tarleton on Sunday at 2 p.m. Sunday’s game will be a Salute to Service game with all military members able to receive free admission with a valid ID.