Augmon Leads Lobos to Road Win Against Waves
MALIBU, Calif.— Aniyah Augmon nearly registered a triple double and achieved a feat that hadn’t been done by a Lobo since 1998 as the Lobos earned a 57-48 road win at Pepperdine in which UNM never trailed.
Augmon led with 16 points and nine rebounds and tallied eight steals, tied for the second most in a game by a Lobo in program history. The last time it was done was Feb. 8, 1998 by Tamika Stukes.
Viané Cumber finished with nine points on three, three-pointers for her 27th career game with multiple three-pointers, her ninth consecutive game with at least one and her 16th career game with three or more three-pointers in a game. Freshman Lara Langermann hit two three-pointers, finishing with nine points and also added a steal for UNM’s nine total steals.
Both teams got out to slow starts with UNM missing its first 10 shots before an offensive board by Charlotte Kohl and putback put the Lobos on the board for the opening points at the 6:30 mark. Pepperdine missed its first eight shots with UNM also forcing two shot clock violations on the Waves.
Paula Reus made it 4-0 with 2:24 left in the quarter and a Langermann drive and finish through the contact made it 6-0. Cumber then hit her first three to make it 9-0 before Pepperdine made its first basket at the 1:09 mark. However, Hulda Joaquim answered on the other end with the Lobos holding an 11-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Langermann opened the second quarter with consecutive three-pointers to give her eight points and the Lobos an 11-point lead.
The Lobos continued to build their lead, leading 21-7 on an Augmon layup at the 7:01 point, which grew to 16 (30-14) on two Augmon free throws as part of a 6-0 Lobo run and a 3:06 scoring drought for Pepperdine. UNM maintained a double-digit lead by a score of 30-18 at the break, with Langermann leading UNM with nine points on 3-4 shooting and 2-2 from three-point range, accounting for two of UNM’s threes in the first two quarters.
Augmon had a career-high four steals through the first 20 minutes and scored eight points in the second quarter alone, and was the first player to reach double figures on a drive to the basket early in the third quarter.
The Waves cut into the lead at 32-24 on a jumper with 6:53 remaining in the third quarter, but an Augmon floater restored the double-digit lead. A 4-0 Pepperdine run pulled the Waves within seven with under a minute to play in the third, with both teams trading layups in the final 40 seconds to give UNM the 41-34 lead heading into the final quarter.
A Nyah Wilson jumper to open the fourth quarter provided some cushion, however, Pepperdine went on a 6-0 run to cut the game to three at 45-42 with 2:37 on the clock. Cumber made sure the Waves wouldn’t get any closer, answering with a three on the ensuing Lobo possession followed by an Augmon steal and layup that allowed the Lobos to steal momentum back at 50-42 with a little more than two minutes remaining.
Pepperdine made one last push to close within five with 1:45 left, to which a Kohl free throw and Augmon layup put the game back to a three possession game. After a Wave three-pointer with 44 seconds left made it 54-48, it became a run of fouls with Pepperdine fouling five-straight times to send the Lobos to the line, where they closed it out with three free throws for the 57-48 final.
Augmon had eight points, six rebounds and four steals in the final 20 minutes.
The Lobos improve to 2-0 with the win and head home for a two-game homestand starting on Sunday against Tarleton at 2 p.m.