Wilson Leads Lobos with 24 Points and First Double-Double in Win at Air Force
USAFA, Colo.— For the second-straight game, four Lobos finished in double figures led by another 24-point outing from Nyah Wilson, as the Lobos extended their win streak to four games following a 66-51 win at Air Force Saturday.
Wilson had a near identical stat line from Wednesday, going 7-11 from the field and 10-12 from the free-throw line to tie her career high set on Wednesday of 24. In addition, she recorded her first career double-double with 10 rebounds. Wilson was one of two Lobos to finish with a double-double, joined by Charlotte Kohl, who finished with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year along with a game-high two blocks. Paula Reus finished with 12 points and Aniyah Augmon nearly reached a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
As a team, the Lobos outshot the Falcons 42.2% to 27.0%, outrebounded them 52-30, made a season-high 26 free throws on a season-high 32 attempts, and held the advantage in points in the paint (34-12), second-chance points (14-5) and fast-break points (11-2).
UNM led for 37:57, the seventh time never trailing in a game and the ninth time leading for over 36 minutes in a game this season.
Reus got the scoring started with an and-one opportunity, as the Lobos made four of their first five shots to lead 9-2 at the opening media timeout with Wilson accounting for four points. The lead stretched to 10 points at 14-4 following a Reus three-pointer with the Lobos holding a 20-7 lead through the first quarter.
It was the eighth time holding an opponent to single digits in a quarter, sixth time in the first quarter, as UNM outshot Air Force 61.5% to 16.7% in the quarter with Reus and Wilson scoring six apiece on a combined 5-7 shooting.
A Wilson layup and Augmon free throw extended the lead to 16, as the defense held AF without a point until the 6:31 mark of the second quarter. A Kohl offensive board, putback and a free throw to complete the three-point play made it 28-12 a little more than halfway through the second, with the lead growing to as many as 18 (31-13) in the second quarter. Air Force closed the quarter on a 6-0 run, with UNM leading 34-20 at the break.
UNM made its points at the free-throw line in the second quarter, going 10-13 at the line with Kohl going 4-5, Augmon 2-4 and Wilson and Reus 2-2. Kohl recorded six points and seven rebounds in the second quarter.
Wilson had 10 points at the break for her 15th game in double figures.
The Falcons came out with a 16-3 run in the first six minutes that included a 9-0 run to make it a one-point game at 37-36. Two free throws by Kohl gave her 10 points for the double-double and started what amounted to a 12-0 run to lead 49-36, holding the Falcons scoreless for 4:17 before Air Force scored with six seconds remaining for the 49-38 score at the end of the third.
UNM maintained its double-digit lead, reaching as many as 19 at 63-44 with 3:59 remaining, as Wilson hit four consecutive free throws after being fouled and the Air Force coach receiving a technical foul to give the Lobo junior her seventh 20-point performance of the season and the third time in four games. Air Force scored the final points of the game on a free throw with seven seconds remaining for the 15-point Lobo victory.
The Lobos shot 50.0% from the floor in the fourth quarter and went 9-10 from the free-throw line to close out the game with Wilson scoring 11 points in the fourth on 2-3 shooting and 7-8 from the line.
With the win, the Lobos improve to 15-6 on the season, 6-2 in the MW. UNM remains on the road for its next contest, traveling to San José State on Wednesday, Jan. 31 for an 11 a.m. PT tip.