ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— North Carolina A&T tested New Mexico on Sunday afternoon, leading 57-53 with 6:16 left in the game, but Nayli Padilla hit consecutive three-pointers to lead the Lobos down the stretch for a gritty 71-64 win.
Padilla finished with a career-high 15 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter, and three three-pointers, and was one of three Lobos to reach double figures. Destinee Hooks scored 20 points in consecutive games, finishing with a game-high 20 points and Alyssa Hargrove added 14 points.
Pressure by the Lobos forced a season-high 16 steals with Joana Magalhães credited with six steals for the second time in three games, Hooks credited with three and Hargrove, Padilla and Tyler Jones accounting for two steals each. UNM turned North Carolina A&T’s 24 turnovers into 31 points.
UNM missed its first five shots, but the Lobo defense forced three turnovers in the first five Aggie possessions to keep the game within a possession. Hooks split a pair of free throws 2:18 into the game, a Padilla steal and fast-break layup tied the game and Padilla made her first three-pointer of the game on a Magalhães steal for the 6-0 Lobo run over a span of 34 seconds.
Leading 6-5 at the media timeout, the lead changed sides on the Aggie possession out of the timeout with a Padilla layup restoring UNM’s one point lead. A Clarissa Criag layup closed the scoring for the Lobos in the quarter with an Aggie three creating a tie at 10 after the first.
There were three lead changes and two ties in the opening quarter with Padilla scoring seven of UNM’s points and UNM credited with six steals and forcing nine Aggie turnovers.
A&T went ahead 13-10 before Jones split a pair of free throws and a layup by Magalhães tied the game at 13. There was little separation for most of the quarter with A&T taking a 26-25 lead with 1:50 remaining until UNM closed the quarter on a 7-0 run, capped by a Hargrove three off of a Hooks’ steal with four seconds left for the 32-26 lead.
Hooks scored eight points in the quarter to lead with nine points at the half, while as a team UNM shot 47.4% from the floor in the second quarter, outscoring A&T 22-16.
The Lobos went on a 9-0 run at the start of the third quarter to build a 13-point lead of 41-28 with a pair of three-pointers, but the Aggies chipped away to close within two at 50-48 at the end of the quarter on a 9-2 run in the final 3:01. The Aggies went 7-8 from the free-throw line and 7-12 from the floor in the third quarter to whittle away the Lobo lead, outscoring UNM 22-18.
A&T tied the game on the opening possession of the fourth quarter with Padilla splitting a pair of free throws and a layup by Hooks putting UNM back in front by a possession. A 7-0 run by A&T put the Aggies in front 57-53 with 6:16 left. Hooks made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit in half and started a 10-0 Lobo run over a span of 1:49 with back-to-back Padilla three-pointers and a Hargrove layup for a 63-57 Lobo lead.
An Aggie and-one with 2:27 left made it a one-possession game with UNM leading 64-62, but a Jessie Joaquim layup off of a Padilla assist and a Magalhães steal and layup immediately following kept the Lobos in front.
Two free throws by Hargrove with 17 seconds left allowed UNM to build a seven-point lead at 70-63 and each team made one free throw with Padilla making the final free throw for the final score.
UNM (2-1) remains at home to host New Orleans on Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. for Field Trip Day.