Lobos Face Cowgirls Wednesday in The Pit
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Lobos return home to host Wyoming on Wednesday night with tip set for 7 p.m. Wednesday will be Indigenous Heritage Night sponsored by Tamaya and turquoise jersey rally towels will be given out to the first 1000 fans.
UNM enters the game after going 1-1 last week and is 11-6 on the season, 2-2 in conference. Wyoming is 9-6 on the season and 4-0 in conference. The Lobos are 9-2 at home, while the Cowgirls are 3-3 on the road this season.
The Lobos are 44-39 all-time against Wyoming, 27-17 in Albuquerque, with the teams splitting the series the last three years.
FOUR-FOR-FOUR DEAL
UNM has had a season-high four players finish in double figures five times this season. Paula Reus and Aniyah Augmon were involved in all five instances, with Nyah Wilson in four of the games, Charlotte Kohl in three, Vianè Cumber in two and Mackenzie Curtis involved in one game.
UNM also has four players averaging double figures led by Wilson (12.9 ppg), Cumber (11.9 ppg) and Augmon and Reus (tied at 11.6 ppg). The trend has continued in conference play with all four averaging double figures led by Wilson at 16.3 ppg, Augmon 14.3 ppg, Cumber 12.0 ppg and Reus 10.0 ppg. Augmon and Wilson have scored in double figures in all four conference games, with Cumber in the last three.
ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT
The Lobos have been led in scoring by five different players (with five games of players sharing the team high) and in rebounds by five different players with two games of multiple players sharing the team lead this season.
Vianè Cumber has led in scoring in four games, Nyah Wilson in three games, Aniyah Augmon and Paula Reus in two games, and Charlotte Kohl once. Reus has led or tied for the team lead in points six times this season. On the boards, Kohl has led in six games, Cumber four times, Augmon and Wilson in two each and Reus in one game. Cumber has led in rebounding in the last two games and in three of the last four.
In conference, UNM has been led in scoring by a different player in three of the four games: Wilson (Nevada and Colorado State), Augmon (Boise State) and Cumber (Utah State), with Cumber leading in rebounds against Nevada, Utah State and Colorado State, and Kohl against Boise State.
CONSISTENT CONTRIBUTORS
Aniyah Augmon has scored in double figures in a team-high 12 games, while Nyah Wilson has scored in double figures in 11 games (with scoring 20 or more points in four games) and Paula Reus in 10 games. Reus has scored in double figures in five of the last seven and nine of the last 11, and Augmon and Wilson in the last four games. Charlotte Kohl has scored in double figures five times and has three double-doubles on the season. Vianè Cumber has scored in double figures in eight games with three games with 20-plus points.
UNM is 8-2 when Reus scores in double figures, 8-3 when Wilson scores in double figures and 8-4 when Augmon scores in double figures.
GET THE REBOUND
The Lobos have shown their ability to control the boards, outrebounding their opponents 717-651 (+66) and outrebounding opponents in 10 games.
Charlotte Kohl leads the team with 138 rebounds (8.1 per game), with two 20-rebound performances, an 18-rebound outing in the final exhibition against Adams State, and grabbed nine against Texas Southern to start the season. She’s had 10-plus rebounds in four games this season. Of her rebounds, 57 are on the offensive end and her 3.4 offensive boards per game are the second most in the conference. Kohl is fourth in the MW in rebounds per game as well as 65th in the NCAA in rebounds.
UNM outrebounded Texas Southern 49-36 (+13), Tarleton State 45-35 (+10), Texas A&M-Commerce 47-33 (+14), Eastern Illinois 47-46 (+1), New Mexico State 47-33 (+14), Mississippi Valley State 56-39 (+17), Western New Mexico 42-36 (+6), No. 20 Gonzaga 35-30 (+5), Nevada 40-38 (+2) and Colorado State 45-29 (+16).
The Lobos are ranked 35th in the NCAA in rebounds per game (42.2), an improvement of 142 spots from last season in which the Lobos finished 177th in the NCAA in rebounds per game with 36.5. In addition, the Lobos have made an improvement in rebounding margin, finishing last season 246th at -2.0, compared to this season where the Lobos are currently ranked 108th with an +3.9 rebounding margin. UNM is ranked 23rd in defensive rebounds per game at 29.9. Among MW teams, UNM leads in rebounds per game and is second in defensive rebounds per game.
ALL ABOUT AUGMON
Beyond her ability to impact a game with steals, Aniyah Augmon has scored in double figures in a team-high 11 games this season, including a stretch of five consecutive games (16 against Texas A&M-Commerce, 11 against Montana State, 17 against Georgia Tech, 10 against Eastern Illinois and 10 against New Mexico State).
In addition to being sixth in steals per game, Augmon is ranked fourth in assists per game (4.3), 17th in scoring (11.6) and 16th in rebounds per game (5.6) in the MW. In MW games, she’s ninth in points per game (14.3) after scoring double figures in all four games, second in assists per game (5.8), tied for second in steals per game (2.3) and tied for 15th in rebounds per game (5.3).
She’s recorded 15-plus points in six games with six assists three times and nine rebounds twice with eight games with six or more rebounds this season.
Augmon recorded her first double-double of the season and the fourth of her career against Utah State behind a career-high 10 assists and 13 points.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
UNM has gone 42-6 (.875) over the last four years: 9-2 this season, 14-3 last season and 17-1 the year prior, while also going 2-0 in the only two home games in 2020-21.
Coach Mike Bradbury is 97-26 in The Pit in his eight years at UNM.
ABOUT WYOMING
Wyoming enters the game 9-6 on the season and 4-0 in conference with wins over Boise State (61-47), Utah State (54-48), Air Force (68-51) and San Diego State (72-55). UW shares two non-conference opponents with the Lobos in Gonzaga with the Cowgirls losing 80-64 and Montana State with the Cowgirls losing 64-55.
The Cowgirls are led in scoring by two in double figures, Allyson Fertig (13.7 ppg) and Malene Pedersen (10.0 ppg). Fertig also leads the team in rebounds (119, 7.9 rpg), blocks (25) and field-goal percentage (58.7%). Fertig’s field-goal percentage is second in the MW and 25th in the NCAA.
In conference games, Wyoming is led in scoring by Tess Barnes at 12.3 points per game, followed by Fertig at 12.0 and Emily Mellema at 11.0.
The Cowgirls are averaging 63.8 points per game in conference and 64.1 points per game on the season, and have among the best scoring defense in the MW, allowing a conference-best 50.3 points per game against conference opponents and 59.8 points per game on the season, which ranks second in the MW.
Three Cowgirls have started all 15 games in Fertig, Barnes and Mellema with Pedersen and Ola Ustowska starting in 14.
UP NEXT: The Lobos travel to Las Vegas to face No. 25/23 UNLV on Saturday at 3 p.m. MT. with the next home game Jan .24 against Fresno State.