UNM Falls to San Diego State in MW Quarterfinals
LAS VEGAS, Nev.— The Lobos’ tournament run came to an end on Monday evening in the quarterfinals after a 67-56 loss to San Diego State.
SDSU made its first three shots to go up 7-0 and the Lobos were never able to recover, despite the efforts of Nyah Wilson, who finished with a game-high 22 points and three steals, and Aniyah Augmon, who finished with 10 points, a team-high seven rebounds and created two steals. It was the 26th time in double figures and the 18th consecutive game in double digits this season for Augmon as well as the 25th time for Wilson, including in 18 of the last 19 games.
Off the bench, Hulda Joaquim was a perfect 4-4 from the floor and added five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.
The Lobos fell behind 13-1 less than four minutes into the game, with UNM chipping away with a 10-0 run to get within two at 15-13, but an Aztec three to close the quarter put the Lobos in an 18-13 deficit.
UNM pulled within three at 21-18 following a Nahawa Diarra Berthe jumper with 8:05 left in the quarter to which SDSU answered with a three to go up by six and later used an 11-2 run to lead 39-26, taking a 39-28 lead into the half.
The margin reached 14 on a three-pointer to open the third quarter, but a 7-0 run that included five points from Wilson and two from Augmon pulled the Lobos within seven at 42-35 with 5:59 to play. However, they were the only points the Lobos scored in the quarter as the Aztecs closed scoring the final seven points to regain the 14-point lead.
UNM got the deficit down to nine points three times in the final quarter, with the first coming off of a Joaquim steal and fast-break layup with 7:28 remaining, again at 6:16 on the clock on two Paula Reus free throws and one final time on a Wilson three with 3:07 to go that pushed the Lobo junior past the 20-point threshold for the 11th time this season. It was the closest UNM got in the final minutes.
Wilson scored eight points in the fourth quarter to give her 13 in the final two quarters combined.
As a team, the Lobos created 10 steals with Wilson at three, Reus and Augmon with two and Vianè Cumber, Joaquim and Diarra Berthe with one each. UNM also forced 20 SDSU turnovers, turning them into 20 points.
UNM (21-11) is now 8-5 in games against San Diego State at the MW Championships and 7-5 when the No. 2-seed.