Wilson's 22 Points and Kohl's Double-Double Leads Lobos Past Lions
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— In a hard-fought game that saw 14 ties and 13 lead changes, the Lobos got the final stop after playing defense for the final 27 seconds to emerge with a 75-74 win over Texas A&M-Commerce and move to 4-0 on the season.
It is the third time in the last five years that UNM has started 4-0.
UNM had a season-high four players finish in double figures, led by Nyah Wilson, who took over in the fourth quarter to score 15 of her career-high 22 points, as well as Charlotte Kohl, who finished with a dominating stat line of a career-high 14 points, career-high 20 rebounds (10 offensive), career-high four blocks and an assist for her first double-double of the season and second of her career.
Kohl registered the double-double by halftime and became the first Lobo to have 20 rebounds in a game since Richelle van der Keijl had 20 against New Mexico State exactly seven years ago on Nov. 15, 2016. Prior to that, the last Lobo to collect 20 rebounds was Amanda Adamson against Texas Tech on Dec. 13, 2008. Of note, five of her 10 offensive rebounds translated to 11 of UNM’s 16 second-chance points, eight of which were scored by Kohl.
Aniyah Augmon finished with 16 points for her third game in double figures this season and Paula Reus finished with double-digit points for the second-straight game with 11 points and had a near double-double with a season-high eight rebounds.
It was a fast-paced start with the Lions opening the game with a three-pointer, matched by two and-ones from Kohl and Augmon on consecutive possessions on the other end to give UNM the early 6-3 lead. The duo carried the Lobo offense early as five points apiece from Kohl and Augmon gave UNM the 10-7 lead four minutes into the game. Following an 11-all tie at the media timeout, TAMUC pulled ahead 16-11 and again at 18-13 before the Lobos rallied on an Augmon jumper and a Viané Cumber three to tie the game at 18. However, a Lions three put the visitors in front with the Lobos trailing 21-20 at the end of the first quarter.
It was the first time this season that the Lobos trailed at the end of a quarter, with TAMUC leading for 3:48 and the Lobos leading for 2:58 in the quarter following three ties and two lead changes.
A Wilson free throw tied the game at 21 less than a minute into the second and a Nahawa Diarra Berthe steal led to a 2-on-1 opportunity with Diarra Berthe finding Wilson for the layup to tie the game at 23. There were four ties in the first four minutes of the second quarter with a Kohl jumper from the elbow giving UNM the 30-29 lead with 5:53 left, which held at the media timeout.
After the Lions pulled ahead 34-32 with 3:30 remaining, the Lobos went on their best scoring run of the game, an 8-0 run over a span of 1:55 to take a 40-34 lead and held a 42-37 lead at the half. The 42 points at the half were a season high for UNM.
The Lobos outscored the Lions 22-16 in the quarter while shooting 55.6% from the floor, led by 3-4 shooting by Reus and Kohl grabbing six rebounds to go with four points. Augmon (11) and Kohl (10) reached double figures in the first half with Kohl already at a double-double with 11 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
TAMUC opened the third with an 8-2 run to take a 45-44 lead before a Reus free throw and Kohl hook shot put the Lobos back in front. A 7-0 run by the Lions put the Lobos in a 54-49 deficit with 2:17 to play in the quarter, to which the Lobos answered behind an Augmon and-one and Cumber layup on an Augmon assist to tie the game at 54. The Lions scored the final three points as UNM trailed 57-54 at the end of the third.
Wilson opened fourth with a driving layup and the Lobos continued to rely on the junior with Wilson making three consecutive layups as well as a three-pointer to tie the game at 63 with 6:37 left in the game. Wilson ultimately scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter for the Lobos, with her final points starting a 6-0 run that gave UNM a 69-65 lead with 3:41 on the clock.
Texas A&M-Commerce cut the margin in half, however, Wilson answered with two free throws to maintain the four-point lead and for her final points of the night. Reus closed the game for the Lobos, scoring on a layup with 2:16 left that made it 73-69 and after the Lions used a 4-0 run to go up 74-73 with 1:41 left, made a jumper with 1:13 to play to give UNM the lead late.
A missed three-pointer led to a Wilson defensive rebound and after a missed Lobo layup with 30 seconds left allowed the Lions the chance for the last shot, the defense withstood three timeouts and a final shot that hit off the rim, with Reus grabbing the rebound as the buzzer sounded.
Wilson closed the game with 15 points on 6-8 shooting, going 1-1 from three-point range and 2-2 from the line, while as a team the Lobos shot 56.3% from the floor.
Up next: the Lobos are off until next week, when they head to Cancun for the Cancun Challenge to face Montana State and Georgia Tech. UNM starts with Montana State on Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. MT with the game streaming on FloHoops.