UNM Comeback Falls Short in Loss to ACU

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— An Alyssa Hargrove corner three made it a three-point game with 1:57 left in Saturday’s game, but Abilene Christian scored the next five points for the 77-69 final score.

Hargrove finished with a season-high 14 points and added a career-high three blocks to go with two assists and a steal, while Viané Cumber led the Lobos in scoring in consecutive games with 18 points that included three three-pointers and added eight rebounds, an assist and a steal. Amhyia Moreland and Nayli Padilla gave the Lobos a spark off the bench with nine points each, a season-high for Padilla, and Moreland led with a season-high 10 rebounds and a career-high four steals.

The Lobo bench scored 23 points with Lara Langermann adding five on 2-2 shooting.

ACU missed its first six shots while Hulda Joaquim opened the scoring with a layup on UNM’s first possession and Cumber added a three on the second Lobo possession. The Wildcats answered with five points to tie the game, but a Cumber basket restored the Lobo lead. ACU went on its best scoring run, a 10-0 run, to take the 15-7 lead, which Langermann ended with a three and Padilla added a second three over a span of 29 seconds to cut the deficit to two. After ACU extended the lead to four at 19-15, the Lobos responded to tie the game at 19 on layups from Moreland and Padilla, with the quarter ending tied at 21.

Three Lobos had five points in the first quarter with Cumber, Langermann and Padilla as the Lobos shot 52.9% with 10 points coming in the paint.

Both teams hit a three to start the second with Hargrove making it from the wing, and Cumber hit her second three from the opposite wing to give UNM the 27-24 lead. Joana Magalhães hit a three as part of a 9-1 run to put the Lobos in front 30-25 midway through the quarter. A Moreland offensive board and putback stretched the lead to four, with ACU making a three on the other end and a free throw and layup to go up by two. Two Padilla free throws after an intentional ACU foul tied the game at 34, which held at the half. It was the first time UNM has been tied at the half this season.

There were seven ties and three lead changes in the first 20 minutes with UNM holding an edge in points in the paint (12-6) and bench points (16-2). Cumber led the Lobos with eight points and five rebounds while Padilla scored seven points off the bench, tying her season high, and had three rebounds and two assists.

ACU opened the scoring on its opening possession, but a corner Cumber three put UNM in front 40 seconds in to the third. Cumber paced the Lobos in the third with the first five UNM points and Hargrove made two free throws to cut the deficit to three before ACU went on a 6-0 run to take a 52-41 lead. A Hargrove layup ended the run followed by a three-pointer by Destinee Hooks to get the margin down to six. After the Wildcats extended the lead back to double digits at 56-46, the Lobos rattled off five free throws behind three from Cumber and two from Hargrove to cut the deficit in half with 3:24 left in the quarter.

The Wildcats led 64-54 at the end of the third with Cumber opening the fourth with a jumper to give her 18 points. Consecutive layups by Moreland made it a six-point game with 7:21 with two free throws by Hooks cutting it down to four points at 70-66 with 5:40 left. ACU went 4:18 between baskets, with a jumper at the 2:22 mark extending the gap back to six. Hargrove’s three made it a one-possession game, with the Lobos having a chance to tie or make it a one-point game after Moreland’s fourth steal with 1:33 gave UNM back possession. However, the Lobos missed a three-pointer with 1:11 left with the Lobos missing their final three shots of the game.

Cumber scored 10 points in the final 20 minutes, while Moreland scored five while recording seven rebounds.

In total, there were seven ties and five lead changes with UNM recording 12 steals, seven blocks with seven different Lobos recording a steal and four recording a block.

The Lobos close the non-conference portion of their schedule at 7-6 and open Mountain West play on the road at Air Force on Dec. 29 at 1 p.m.