Lobos Return to Court to Face Western New Mexico Sunday
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— With a week off and finals behind them, the Lobos return to the court on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Western New Mexico.
Sunday’s contest will be the final non-conference home game with the Lobos traveling to Gonzaga to close out the non-conference schedule, as well as the last home game until Jan. 6 when UNM hosts Boise State.
In addition, the first 500 fans at Sunday’s game will receive a holiday shirt.
UNM enters the game 8-3 on the season and 4-1 during its six-game homestand that started back on Nov. 28 against Eastern Illinois. During that stretch, the Lobos have been led in scoring by Paula Reus and Charlotte Kohl, who have either led or tied with each other for the team lead in all five games. In the last five games, Reus is averaging 15.8 points per game, while Kohl is averaging 13.2 points per game. Nyah Wilson is averaging 10.6 points per game over the last five games, and as a team, the Lobos have averaged 64.8 points per game with a +7.2 scoring margin.
Defensively, Kohl has averaged 10.2 rebounds in the last five games with 51 total rebounds, accounting for a little over half of her 101 on the season. Further, the Lobo center has recorded 13 blocks over the last five games.
LAST TIME OUT
The Lobos scored the first 12 points of the Dec. 10 game against Hampton with the lead reaching 26 midway through the third as UNM led from start to finish in the 68-55 win behind nine players scoring and four reaching double figures.
Sunday’s game was the fourth time this season that the Lobos had four finish in double figures.
Paula Reus and Charlotte Kohl tied for the team high with 14 points, with Aniyah Augmon and Mackenzie Curtis scoring 11 points. It was the eighth time scoring in double figures for Augmon, the fourth consecutive game for Kohl and fifth overall, and the sixth game for Reus.
Augmon notched a near double-double with a team-high nine rebounds, tying her season high, and also recorded four assists and three steals, her seventh game this season with multiple steals. Reus finished with eight boards for the fourth time this season.
Curtis accounted for nearly half of UNM’s 24 bench points, a season high for the Lobo bench. Paris Lauro went a perfect 2-2 from the floor and finished with a season-best five points and Curtis matched her career high in three-pointers with three while going 2-2 from the free-throw line.
As a team, UNM made a season-best 11 three-pointers with six different players making at least one and Augmon tying her career high with three, three-pointers, Curtis making three and Reus making two. In addition, the Lobos had a season-high 20 assists on their 23 made baskets, with Reus leading with five assists to tie her season high and three players (Augmon, Jaelyn Bates and Curtis) credited with four assists. Defensively, the Lobos also recorded nine steals, the third time this season with nine, with Augmon (three), Reus (two), Bates (two), Lauro (one) and Curtis (one) all recording steals.
FOUR-FOR-FOUR DEAL
UNM had a season-high four players finish in double figures four times this season. Paula Reus and Aniyah Augmon were involved in all four instances, with Nyah Wilson and Charlotte Kohl in three of the games, with Vianè Cumber and Mackenzie Curtis involved in one game each.
UNM also has four players averaging double figures led by Wilson (12.9 ppg), Reus (12.0), Cumber (11.9 ppg) and Augmon (11.0 ppg). Kohl is close at 9.7 points per game.
PAULA FINDING HER STRIDE
Paula Reus has found her stride of late, scoring in double figures in four of the last five games. She set her career high in points with 25 against Eastern Illinois, making a season-high four three-pointers.
Reus has scored in double digits six times this season and 27 times in her three years. UNM is 6-0 this season when Reus reaches double figures.
She has been close to a double-double several times with four games of eight rebounds and has been a facilitator with five assists in two games, which came in two of the last four games.
Reus leads the team in made field goals (53) and is second in points (132, 12.0 ppg), three-pointers (13), assists (26, 2.4 apg), steals (10, 0.9 spg) and rebounds (69, 6.3 rpg).
GET AHEAD, STAY AHEAD
So far this season, the Lobos have led for:
•37:53 and led after each quarter against Texas Southern
•36:30 and never trailed at Pepperdine
•39:21 and never trailed against Tarleton State
•32:47 and led after each quarter against New Mexico State
•39:34 and led after each quarter against Mississippi Valley State
•38:06 and never trailed against Hampton
UNM is outscoring opponents 172-148 (+24) in the first quarter and 352-308 (+44) through the first two quarters. UNM is also outscoring opponents 185-178 (+7) in the fourth quarter.
In 2022-23, the Lobos were 18-4 on the season when leading after the first quarter and 18-4 overall when leading at the half. When leading at the end of the third quarter, the Lobos were 19-4 overall last season. This season, UNM is 6-1 when leading after the first quarter, 7-0 when leading at the half and 6-0 when leading after the third quarter.
ABOUT WESTERN NEW MEXICO
The Mustangs enter Sunday’s game 6-2 on the season, 2-2 in the Lone Star Conference, and are coming off of an 89-54 exhibition loss to New Mexico State on Tuesday.
WNMU returns eight players from a season ago and signed six in the offseason, five transfers and one freshman.
Sydney Wright leads the team in scoring with 10.3 points per game and in minutes played at 28.0 per game, while Diamond Moore leads on the boards with 6.9 rebounds per game and Brooke Rodgers leads in steals (13) and assists (21), and is second on the team in blocks with eight.
The Mustangs have utilized the same starting lineup in all eight games in Wright, Moore, Rodgers, Silvia Blanco and Jade Goynes and nine players have appeared in all eight games.
WNMU has been sound on defense, allowing 58.6 points per game, recording 27 blocks (3.4 per game) and 68 steals (8.5 per game), and is outrebounding opponents 298-282 for a +2.0 rebounding margin and at a rate of 37.3 rebounds per game.
This will be the second meeting all-time with the Mustangs, with the last occurring a season ago, a 93-57 Lobo win.