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Lobos Defeat Wolf Pack Behind Four in Double Figures

by Allison Weiss

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Four Lobos finished in double figures for the second-straight game and New Mexico led for 37:36 in the 70-62 win over Nevada on New Year’s Day.

An Alyssa Hargrove three in the first quarter broke the four-all tie and Destinee Hooks added five consecutive points on a layup and three-pointer as part of a UNM 10-0 run that gave the Lobos the insurmountable 12-4 lead 3:10 into Wednesday’s game. The Wolf Pack cut the margin to two going into the half and twice got within one early in the third quarter, but the Lobos never relinquished the lead, leading by six at the end of the third and by as many as 10 in the fourth before winning by eight.

Hooks led all scorers with 18 points, pacing the Lobos with seven points in the first quarter, to go with two steals, two rebounds, a block and an assist. Viané Cumber closed for the Lobos, scoring 10 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter, including 6-6 from the free-throw line to secure the win. Of note, with her six free throws, Cumber set the program record for consecutive made free throws at 40, surpassing Julie Briody’s record of 35 she set Feb. 8-March 4, 2006.

Amhyia Moreland finished with 10 points, two blocks and six rebounds and Joana Magalhães reached double figures in consecutive games with 10 points to go with two steals and six rebounds. Alyssa Hargrove accounted for three of UNM’s nine steals, the seventh game this season with three or more steals for the Lobo, and added nine points and a team-high four assists.

Not only did the Lobos lead for the majority of the game, UNM had the advantage in points off turnovers (17-10), paint points (38-24), second-chance points (21-16) and rebounds (42-38).

Moreland scored the first two baskets for the Lobos, with the second basket tying the game at four and starting a 10-0 run over 1:45 for a 12-4 lead. The Wolf Pack responded with a run to close within four at 17-13 with the four-point margin holding at the end of the first with the Lobos in front 19-15.

UNM opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run behind a Hargrove steal and layup, a layup from Hooks and two three-pointers (Hooks and Cumber) that stretched UNM’s lead to 29-17 2:53 in, in what would be the largest UNM lead of the game, to force a Nevada timeout. Out of the timeout, Nevada used an 8-0 run to cut the lead to four at 29-25, which Cumber ended with a layup to begin a 6-0 Lobo run that stretched the lead to 10 at 35-25. The Lobos led 36-34 at the half, with the Wolf Pack closing the quarter on a 9-1 run in the final 1:26.

Moreland opened the third quarter scoring on a reverse layup, with the Wolf Pack making a three on the other end on their first possession to cut the margin to one. The Wolf Pack stayed within a possession until a Hooks layup at the 7:59 mark pushed UNM’s lead to five at 44-39, which extended to seven at 48-41 on a Hulda Joaquim fast-break layup with 4:36 left in the quarter. Nevada again cut the lead to one possession at 48-45, however, the Lobos scored the next five points to push the lead up to eight, with the lead holding at six (54-48) at the end of the third.

Two free throws by Nevada started the fourth quarter before layups from Magalhães and Hooks extended the lead to eight, which grew to 10 at 64-54 on the two Cumber free throws that gave her the record. Two free throws by Magalhães with 3:36 to play made it 64-54, with Nevada getting as close as six with 10 seconds left. Cumber closed the game with two final free throws with six seconds remaining for the final score.

With the win, the Lobos improve to 9-6 on the season, 2-0 in Mountain West and have started conference 2-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

The Lobos return to the road to face San Diego State on Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. MT.