Lobos Host Lady Bulldogs Wednesday
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The Lobos host South Carolina State in a midweek matchup on Wednesday night at 7 p.m., the second game in the six-game homestand for UNM. There will be a canned food drive at Wednesday’s game, with boxes located in the northwest entrance and the main entrance for fans to drop off cans. Fans who donate will receive a voucher for a discounted ticket to a future game.
Wednesday will be the second all-time meeting between the Lobos and the Lady Bulldogs, with the first taking place on Dec. 29, 2022, a 107-55 UNM win. The Lobos never trailed, leading for 38:35 and by as many as 56 points. UNM scored 20-plus points in all four quarters and led 30-8 through the first quarter and 55-23 at the half. Viané Cumber scored 16 points with four three-pointers and had six rebounds, two steals and an assist in the game.
UNM is coming off of an 85-56 win over Western New Mexico on Friday night to move to 2-2 on the season, while SCSU is 1-3 on the season following a loss to Jacksonville State (72-41) on Nov. 15. Wednesday will be the first road game of the season for the Lady Bulldogs.
4-FOR-4 DEAL
Viané Cumber and Alyssa Hargrove have reached double figures in all four games this season with Cumber scoring a season-high 23 against Morehead State and averaging 15.0 ppg and Hargrove scoring a season-high 12 in the season opener against Northern Arizona and averaging 10.8 ppg.
Additionally, the Lobos had a season-high four players score in double figures in the game against Western New Mexico, led by 15 from Destinee Hooks, 13 from Cumber, 12 from Hulda Joaquim and 10 from Hargrove.
GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES
UNM has had a player score 20-plus points in three of the games this season. Destinee Hooks has scored 20-plus points twice (21 vs. Northern Arizona and 28 at Texas Tech) and Viané Cumber scored 23 against Morehead State.
Further, the Lobos have three players averaging double figures in Hooks (17.5 ppg), Cumber (15.0 ppg) and Alyssa Hargrove (10.8 ppg.)
Hooks has scored in double figures in three games (NAU, Texas Tech and Western New Mexico) and has led the team in scoring in those three games.
BLOCK IT UP
The Lobos finished with 10 blocks against Morehead State, the most in a game since 2021, when UNM had 11 against Houston Baptist on Nov. 23. Seven different Lobos had at least one block with Hulda Joaquim, Destinee Hooks and Alyssa Hargrove leading with two apiece. Lara Langermann recorded her first career block, with Lydie Mwamba, Amhyia Moreland and Reza Po all contributing one.
UNM has 24 blocks this season with Hargrove leading with five, Joaquim and Moreland with four and Hooks and Po with two. As a team, UNM is 18th in the NCAA in blocks per game (6.0) and second in the Mountain West.
MOUNTAIN OF STATS
Among the Mountain West teams, the Lobos rank in the top-two in six categories.
UNM leads the conference in assists per game (14.8) and is second in points per game (74.3), three-point field goal percentage (.344), rebounds per game (41.5), three-pointers per game (7.8) and blocks per game (6.0).
UNM’s 21 assists in the game against Morehead State is tied for the most by a MW team in a game this season and the 10 blocks are tied for the second most in a game this season.
On an individual level, Viané Cumber leads the conference in three-pointers per game (3.0) with a conference-best 12 made three-pointers and her three-point percentage (.462) is second in the MW. Cumber’s seven three-pointers against Morehead State is the most made by a MW player this season and her 12 attempts in the game also the most. Destinee Hooks’ 28 points at Texas Tech is tied for the most points scored by a MW player this season, with her 11 made field goals in the game the most by a MW player. Hooks is tied for third in the conference in points per game at 17.5 with Cumber tied for seventh at 15.0.
STARTING STRONG, NEED TO FINISH STRONG
UNM has entered the fourth quarter with the lead in three games (NAU, Morehead State and Western New Mexico), outscoring opponents 67-48 in the first quarter and 56-35 in the second quarter (123-83 in the first 20 minutes), but that margin narrowed to 47-41 in the third quarter and was outscored 68-59 in the fourth in those three games.
The Lobos led for the majority of the game in the three games, leading 34:12 and by as many as 13 against NAU but lost the lead and the game late. Against Morehead State, the Lobos led 39:33 and by as many as 24 in the fourth, but the lead was cut down to 10 in the 66-56 final. They only trailed for 3:47 (3:30 vs. NAU, 0:17 vs. MSU) in the first two games of the season. Against Western New Mexico, UNM led by as many as 29 and for 36:38.
On the season, UNM is outscoring its opponents 90-66 in the first quarter for the greatest point differential of +24. The margin narrows in the second (67-54) with the Lobos holding an advantage in the third (64-58), but are outscored 89-76 in the fourth. UNM holds a 297-267 edge in overall points.
In addition, the Lobos have led for a total of 123:06 this season, leading after the first quarter in all four games, and trailed for a total of 31:45, with the largest time coming at Texas Tech at 25:17.
PAINT POINTS
While a small sample size, the Lobos trend of prioritizing the paint points has continued from last season with UNM scoring 42 of its 78 points in the paint in the season opener, accounting for 53.8%. UNM outscored NAU 42-34 in the paint, with 14 points in both the first and second quarters coming in the paint to account for 28 of UNM’s 42 points at the half. UNM had a season-best 56 paint points in the game against Western New Mexico, accounting for a season-high 65.9% of the total points.
This season, UNM has scored 148 of its 297 points in the paint, accounting for 49.8% of the points and an average of 37.0 points per game.
FROM 0-60
A pattern emerged last season centered around the No. 60. 60 was the magic number for the Lobos as UNM was 19-1 when scoring 60 or more points and 14-2 when allowing fewer than 60 points. In conference games, UNM was 11-1 when scoring 60 or more and 7-1 when allowing fewer than 60 points.
This season, the Lobos are 2-0 when both occur. The win against Morehead State followed suit, scoring 66 points and allowed 56, as did the win against Western New Mexico, scoring 85 and allowing 56.
UNM is 2-2 when scoring 60 or more points this season.
ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
Out of the MEAC, the Lady Bulldogs are averaging 51.5 points per game, led by two in double figures in Angie Juste-Jean (14.7 ppg) and Jada Morgan (10.3 ppg). Jhaven Meade leads the team in rebounds and in blocks at 3.8 rebounds per game and two blocks, while Janiah Hinton leads in steals at six. As a team, SCSU is allowing 61.5 points per game, and defensively is also averaging 33.5 rebounds per game, 7.0 steals per game and 1.0 block per game.
SCSU is being outscored in every quarter but the fourth quarter, which they hold a 65-51 point advantage over its opponents to date.