Lobos Close Regular Season with Win Over Air Force
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— A Destinee Hooks layup with 11 seconds left followed by an Air Force turnover and two Viané Cumber free throws with four seconds remaining closed the MW schedule for New Mexico on Tuesday night, turning a 74-73 deficit into a 77-74 win.
The Lobo defense held the Falcons without a point in the final 1:56 after Air Force used a 6-0 run to take the 74-73 lead.
There were a total of eight ties and five lead changes in the game with UNM leading for 17:17 of the final two quarters and by as many as 11 in the third quarter.
Hooks led the Lobos with 17 points and added two steals, with Viané Cumber at 15 points that included one three-pointer to give her the all-time program record in career three-pointers at 240. Joana Magalhães finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Amhyia Moreland scored seven points with six rebounds and three blocks off the bench. Paris Lauro had another strong game with 3-3 shooting that included two three-pointers in the second to spark the Lobos, with the bench scoring 22 points.
While Air Force entered the game leading the MW in steals per game and turnover margin, the Falcons only had four steals and turned the Lobos over only eight times. The Lobos held true to form in paint points, outscoring the Falcons 42-34 in the paint and also led in second-chance points (9-8) and rebounds (45-33) with 14 offensive rebounds and 31 defensive.
Air Force hit its first two shots, both three-pointers, to go up 6-2 to start the contest, but a layup from Alyssa Hargrove and Hulda Joaquim offensive board and putback tied the game at six within the first three minutes. The teams traded baskets with ties at eight, 10 and 12 before the Falcons used a 5-0 run to create separation. Two Nayli Padilla free throws with 2:03 left in the quarter closed the margin to two at 19-17, but Air Force made a layup as time expired to regain a five-point lead of 24-19 at the end of the first quarter.
Four consecutive three-pointers by the Lobos to start the second quarter with Lauro making two, Hooks one and Magalhães one tied the game at 31 with two more ties at 34 and 36 with 3:57 left. UNM closed on a 6-1 run, scoring the final five points that included a Joaquim layup as time expired for the four-point halftime lead.
UNM outscored Air Force 23-14 in the second quarter behind five three-pointers with Hooks and Lauro going 2-2 from behind the arc. The Lobos led for the final 2:28 of the quarter after a Hooks three-pointer and just 3:16 in the first 20 minutes, outscoring AFA 18-16 in the paint, 6-5 in second-chance points and 16-9 in bench points in the first two quarters. The Lobos also outrebounded the Falcons 29-17 in the first two quarters and held the Falcons the final 2:45 without a point.
The Lobos came out on a 7-2 run to start the third quarter with Cumber accounting for all seven points on a layup followed by the program-record three-pointer and another layup to make it 49-40 Lobos and force an Air Force timeout. A Hooks steal and layup out of the timeout stretched the lead to its largest margin of 11 with 7:49 remaining in the quarter and led 53-44 before Air Force went on a 6-0 run over 1:37 to cut the margin to three with 3:03 left in the third quarter. A Magalhães free throw and layup maintained a four-point lead and a Hargrove three-pointer off of a Magalhães offensive rebound pushed the margin to nine at 61-52 with 1:07 on the clock. Air Force closed the quarter with the final four points with UNM leading 61-56 at the end of the third.
Both teams shot over 50.0% in the quarter with UNM shooting 53.3% and Cumber leading with nine of UNM’s 19 points on 4-5 shooting.
Air Force turned a nine-point lead of 67-58 following a Lauro layup into a four-point lead with 6:49 to play, and following two Magalhães free throws, continued to cut into the lead, trimming it down to one on a three-pointer with 3:28 remaining. A Moreland layup pushed the margin to three, and after two Falcon free throws a Magalhães layup restored the three-point margin. However, a Falcon three tied the game at 73 and a free throw gave the visitors a one-point advantage at 74-73, the final points for the Falcons in the game.
Both teams missed shots on their next two possessions before Hooks provided the go-ahead basket for the Lobos.
With the win, the Lobos finish the regular season 18-13 and 11-7 in conference, and will be the fifth seed at the Mountain West Championship in Las Vegas. For the fourth consecutive year, the Lobos will open the tournament with San Diego State, with the teams set to play in the quarterfinals on Monday at 3:30 p.m. MT.