UNM Conclude Non-Conference Schedule Saturday with Wildcats
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The Lobos close out the non-conference schedule on Saturday against Abilene Christian at 1 p.m. UNM enters the game 7-5 having won its last two games by double digits, an 82-59 win over Pepperdine and a 69-57 win over Sacramento State in Thursday’s Lobo Invitational opener. ACU is coming into the game 9-4, winning its last seven games and is 4-1 on the road after defeating Sacramento State 80-49 in Friday’s neutral game.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be the third time UNM has faced Abilene Christian with all three games taking place in The Pit. The series is tied 1-1 following the last meeting in 2022, a 71-61 Lobo win. The first game in the series was in 1985, a 76-74 ACU win.
The last time the two teams played, UNM led for 38:05 and by as many as 13, and only trailed by one point (47-46) and for nine seconds. UNM used a 5-0 run to close the third quarter and a 7-0 run to open the fourth to create separation, with the lead holding in double digits for the remainder of the 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 6-0 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. Against South Carolina State, UNM scored 80 and allowed a season-low 38 and against North Texas, UNM scored 75 and allowed 58. In the game against Pepperdine, UNM allowed 59 points while scoring 82 and followed it up in the next game against Sacramento State with 69 points while allowing 57.
UNM has scored 60 or more points in all 12 games this season and is 6-0 when allowing fewer than 60 points. UNM opponents are averaging 64.3 ppg.
MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME
The Lobos have a total of 22 home games on the schedule with two exhibitions, 11 non-conference and nine MW games.
In 10 home games, UNM is outscoring opponents 739-628 (+111) in home games and averaging 73.9 ppg while allowing 62.8 ppg. The Lobos are shooting 45.1% and 34.6% from three-point range, making an average of 8.2 three-pointers per game. UNM is also outrebounding opponents 39.6-32.2 (+7.4) and averaging 10.0 steals per game and 5.1 blocks per game in The Pit.
Destinee Hooks (15.8 ppg) and Viané Cumber (16.8 ppg) are averaging double figures in home games, while Hulda Joaquim has 8.2 ppg and 6.9 rpg to lead the team in rebounds and Alyssa Hargrove is averaging 7.8 ppg and 4.0 apg.
MOUNTAIN OF STATS
Among the Mountain West teams, the Lobos rank in the top three in seven categories, leading the conference in four.
UNM leads the conference in field goal percentage (.452), rebounding margin (+6.5), rebounding defense (32.8) and rebounds per game (39.3). The Lobos are second in blocks per game (4.8), and defensive rebounds per game (28.0) and third in assists per game (15.4).
UNM’s 10 blocks against Morehead State 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 (2.7), three-point field goal percentage (.368) and 32 made three-pointers. Cumber’s seven three-pointers against Morehead State are the most made by a MW player this season with her 12 attempts in the game also the most. Destinee Hooks is third in the conference in points per game at 17.8 with Cumber sixth at 15.8. Hooks is also second in field goal percentage (.519) with Cumber third (.455).
Hooks’ 28 points at Texas Tech is tied for the second-most points scored by a MW player this season, with her 11 made field goals in the game the most by a MW player.
Alyssa Hargrove is fourth in the conference in assists per game (3.7) and tied for third in steals per game (2.3). Amhyia Moreland is fourth in blocks per game (1.5) with Hulda Joaquim tied for eighth (1.0) and Joaquim is fourth in offensive rebounds per game (3.3) with Cumber third in defensive rebounds per game (5.7).
KEEP IT BELOW 10
The Lobos have held an opponent below 10 points in a quarter seven times this season, doing it twice in a game twice, with both occurring in the second and third quarters. Five of the seven times happened in the second quarter.
UNM held Morehead State to eight points in the second quarter and seven points in the third quarter and held South Carolina State to nine points in the second quarter and five points in the third. Against North Texas, UNM held the Mean Green to eight points in the second quarter and against Pepperdine, UNM held the Waves to seven points in the second quarter. In the game against Sacramento State, UNM held the Hornets to nine points in the second quarter.
STARTING STRONG, NEED TO FINISH STRONG
UNM has entered the fourth quarter with the lead in nine games (NAU, Morehead State, Western New Mexico, South Carolina State, UC Irvine, North Texas, at New Mexico State, Pepperdine and Sacramento State). In those nine games, UNM outscored opponents 171-130 in the first quarter and 150-101 in the second quarter (321-231 in the first 20 minutes), 165-133 in the third quarter and 174-170 in the fourth (339-303 in the last 20 minutes). UNM is 7-2 this season when taking a lead into the final quarter.
The Lobos led for the majority of the game in seven of the 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 and UNM never trailed against South Carolina State and led by as many as 43. Against UNT, the Lobos led for 39:27 and never trailed, leading by as many as 19 in the second quarter. In the game against Pepperdine, UNM led for 34:10 and by as many as 30. Against Sacramento State, the Lobos never trailed, leading for 38:30 and by as many as 18 in the third quarter.
On the season, UNM is outscoring its opponents 236-188 in the first quarter (+48). The Lobos are outscoring opponents by 188-154 in the second (+34) and 217-194 (+23) in the third, but trailing 235-226 in the fourth. UNM holds a 867-771 (+96) edge in overall points.
In addition, the Lobos have led for a total of 293:01 this season, leading after the first quarter in nine games (exception was Gonzaga and at NMSU; tied against Pepperdine), and trailed for a total of 144:40, with the largest time coming against Gonzaga of 39:13. UNM never trailed in the game against South Carolina State, North Texas and Sacramento State, but also never led against Gonzaga although tying the game three times.
FAST-BREAK POINTS
On the season, UNM has scored 137 fast-break points, while limiting opponents to 78. The Lobos held NAU and NMSU to five fast-break points, Western New Mexico, Pepperdine and UC Irvine to four and South Carolina State, Sacramento State and Gonzaga to two.
The Lobos have had the edge in fast-break points in nine games.
PAINT POINTS
The trend of prioritizing the paint points has continued from last season with UNM scoring 436 of its 867 points in the paint, accounting for 50.3% of the points and an average of 36.3 points per game. The Lobos are outscoring opponents 436-330 (+106) in the paint and have outscored opponents in the paint in nine games (6-3 in those games).
In the season opener, UNM scored 42 of its 78 points in the paint, 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. In the game against South Carolina State, UNM outscored the Lady Bulldogs 48-18 in the paint, scoring 60.0% of the total points in the paint. In the game against Gonzaga, UNM outscored the Bulldogs 38-30 in the paint with 55.9% of UNM’s total points coming in the paint. Against UNT, UNM outscored the Mean Green 38-36 in the paint and 50.7% of its points came in the paint. In the game at NMSU, the Lobos outscored the Aggies 40-30 in the paint, accounting for 66.7% of the total points (60). Against Pepperdine, the Lobos outscored the Waves 40-18 in the paint and 48.8% of the total points (82). UNM held the edge in the paint against Sacramento State 32-26, with 46.4% of its points coming in the paint (69 total points).
ABOUT ABILENE CHRISTIAN
The Wildcats are averaging 72.6 points per game while allowing 57.3 points per game and are led by two in double figures in Payton Hull (18.1 ppg) and Bella Earle (14.7 ppg). Meredith Mayes leads the team on the boards at 7.1 and blocks (11) and Earle is the team leader in assists at 47. Hull has led the team in scoring in the last six games and 10 games overall, and has scored double digits 12 times and 20-plus points in five games. Hull also leads with 27 made three-pointers, shooting 34.2% from three-point range.
ACU shares three common opponents with the Lobos in North Texas (lost 71-60) and Texas Tech (lost 66-40),but beat Sacramento State in the first meeting of the teams (75-53) and in Friday’s game.