Strong Second Half Leads Lobos Past Lady Bulldogs
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— A 21-2 run in the third quarter with the Lobos outscoring South Carolina State 21-5 in the quarter provided the separation the Lobos needed in the 80-38 win on Wednesday night.
Four Lobos finished in double figures, led by a career- and game-high 14 points from Hulda Joqauim, who also brought down a game-high 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Amyhia Moreland blocked a career-high six shots to go with 12 points and six rebounds, a season high in points, and Destinee Hooks and Viané Cumber each contributed 13 points with Cumber hitting three of UNM’s nine three-pointers in the contest.
It was the fifth time that Cumber has scored in double figures this season, the fourth time for Hooks, the third time for Joaquim and the first time for Moreland. In total, 11 Lobos scored which included the first career points for Lilli Hakkarainen on a three-pointer, a season-high six points for Reza Po and season-high eight points for Joana Magalhães.
Defensively, UNM created 13 steals for the second-straight game with Alyssa Hargrove, Magalhães and Lydie Mwamba each credited with three. Hargrove recorded multiple steals for the fourth time and a steal in a game for the fifth time this season. Moreland had four blocks at the half, tying her career high in a game, getting her fifth in the third quarter to set her career high before adding her sixth in the fourth.
On the offensive end, the Lobos assisted on 24 of the 33 made baskets, led by five from Magalhães with 11 Lobos having at least one and six with multiple assists. UNM also shot a season-high 50.8% in the game, shooting over 50 percent in the second, third and fourth quarters with a game-high 57.9% in the fourth quarter.
UNM scored on its first three possessions with a free throw by Magalhães, layup by Joaquim and a floater from Hooks for the 5-2 lead less than two minutes into the game. A Cumber three-pointer broke the 3:30 scoring drought for the Lobos, however SCSU made one of its first eight shots and made its second basket at the 3:19 mark to allow the Lobos to stay in front despite the drought. UNM maintained a six-point lead on a Moreland layup with 1:37 left until a 5-0 late Lady Bulldog run made it a one-point game at the end of the first quarter with the Lobos in front 12-11.
A steal and layup by Hooks followed by another Hooks jumper started the second to extend the lead to five. After taking a charge on the defensive end, Po hit a corner three to make it a 7-0 Lobo run to start the quarter, however a matched 7-0 SCSU run cut it back to one at 19-18 midway through the quarter. A Hargrove steal led to Hooks taking it coast-to-coast for the layup to end the run, with a Moreland layup extending the margin.
Joaquim made a layup with two seconds remaining as UNM made five of its last six field goal attempts and ended on an 11-2 run to end the quarter with a 10-point lead at 30-20, outscoring South Carolina State 18-9 in the quarter. The nine points was the third time this season that the Lobos have held an opponent under 10 points in a quarter.
Hooks scored eight points in the second to give her 10 points at the half to lead all scorers on 5-6 shooting and Hargrove had three steals to account for half of UNM’s total steals through the first two quarters.
A 7-0 Lobo run behind a Hooks layup, a Cumber fast-break layup and a transition three by Cumber extended the advantage to 14 points at 37-23 in the third quarter. The offensive continued to find its stride, scoring the final 14 points of the quarter that included two Joaquim layups, a Lara Langermann basket, threes by Cumber and Langermann, and a Cumber layup off of a Mwamba offensive board in what amounted to a 21-2 run over 6:05 that made it 51-25 at the end of the third.
Cumber scored 10 points in the quarter on 4-7 shooting with Langermann scoring five points on 2-2 shooting.
The five points were the fewest points allowed in a quarter this season and meant the second game this season that the Lobos have held an opponent to below 10 points twice in a game.
A Moreland layup opened the final quarter with the Lady Bulldogs making a three-pointer before an 8-0 run stretched it to 61-28, which included two Moreland layups, a free throw from Hooks and a Po three-pointer. Consecutive Magalhães layups gave Magalhães her season high and was followed by a Joaquim offensive rebound and putback that gave Joaquim double figures. An offensive rebound with 3:36 remaining gave Joaquim her 10th rebound, with the possession later leading to a Joaquim layup 12 seconds later for her career-high 14th point.
The Lobos closed their scoring on a Hakkarainen three with 2:18, two Nayli Padilla free throws and a three-pointer from Paris Lauro for the largest lead of the game. The Lady Bulldogs split a pair of free throws with 37 seconds left for the final point of the game and the 42-point final margin.
UNM outscored South Carolina State 50-18 in the final two quarters, which the Lobos also scored 50 points in the second half the last time the Lobos played the Lady Bulldogs back in 2022. The 38 points were also the fewest points scored in a game by South Carolina State this season and the 80 points were the most allowed.
The Lobos (3-2) continue their homestand on Sunday against Gonzaga at 1 p.m. with the game a white out game.