Hooks and Cumber Power Lobos Past Cowgirls
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Wyoming pulled within three three times in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game, but each time the Lobos had an answer on the offensive end, ultimately winning 73-67 to remain undefeated in conference play.
The Lobos (11-6, 4-0 MW) have won six of their last seven games and face the only other remaining unbeaten team in the MW, UNLV, at home on Sunday.
New Mexico was led by Destinee Hooks’ game-high 20 points and season-high four assists, the fifth time this season reaching 20 points and the ninth time leading the team in scoring. Joining her in double figures was Viané Cumber, who finished with 16 points, which included two three-pointers to put her at 200 career three-pointers. The New Mexico native became just the fourth Lobo in program history to make 200 three-pointers.
UNM led for 27:14, including the entire 19:11 of the second half, and had the advantage in points off turnovers (14-7), paint points (42-38), second-chance points (8-0), fast-break points (5-2) and bench points (19-14), while also finishing with a season-low seven turnovers. Additionally, UNM led in steals (5-4), offensive rebounds (8-4) and its 73 points was 14 more points than Wyoming had been allowing per game entering Wednesday’s contest.
Wyoming led 12-7 in the first quarter before a 5-0 run from Hooks tied the game at 12. A Cowgirl three with 2:36 remaining was the final points by the visitors as UNM closed with the final four points to lead 16-15 at the end of the first, including a layup by Amhyia Moreland with one second remaining that gave UNM its first lead of the game. Hooks had seven points in the quarter.
UNM made three consecutive field goals on a Cumber three and baskets by Hooks and Lara Langermann to lead 23-20 in the second, with the Lobos leading 25-24 with 3:55 left in the quarter. UNM’s lead fluctuated between three and one point from the 3:49 mark to the 2:44 mark before Cumber’s three-pointer pushed the margin to six (34-28) with 2:18 left in the quarter. Wyoming used a 5-0 run to cut the lead down to one with Hulda Joaquim making her first three-pointer of the season with 38 seconds left for the final points of the quarter and a 37-33 UNM lead. Hooks led all scorers with 13 points at the break, followed by Cumber with eight after the Lobos shot 56.3% from the floor and didn’t record a turnover in the second quarter.
Hooks added to her total to open the third quarter scoring and Cumber reached double figures at the 8:24 mark to stretch the lead to its largest point of the game at eight (41-33), with Wyoming again using a 5-0 run to cut the lead to three. A Joana Magalhães three pushed the lead to six at 44-38, and after Wyoming made its own three on its next possession, a Cumber layup and Joaquim layup made it 48-41. A Paris Lauro three out of the media timeout pushed the lead back to eight at 51-43 to which the Cowgirls cut to two on an 8-2 run at the end of the third with UNM up 53-51.
The Cowgirls tied the game on two free throws 1:22 into the final quarter, however, a Cumber steal and layup 33 seconds later restored UNM’s lead and started a 7-0 run over 1:06 to force a Wyoming timeout. The Cowgirls whittled the lead down to three on three separate occasions, with UNM answering on every possession on a Moreland layup, a layup from Joaquim and a jumper by Hooks to eliminate the threat, with the final basket by Hooks coming with 50 seconds remaining.
Cumber made two free throws with 33 seconds remaining, Langermann split a pair and the Lobos closed on a 5-2 run in the final 50 seconds to secure the win with Wyoming scoring its only basket with 16 seconds remaining to stop a 57 second scoring drought and a 3:39 drought without a field goal. The Lobos shot a game-high 57.1% in the fourth quarter while holding Wyoming to 38.5% for its lowest percentage in a quarter in the game.
UNM returns to the court on Sunday at 2 p.m. against UNLV on CBS Sports Network. Kids 12 and under are free at the door.