LAS VEGAS, Nev.—Destinee Hooks scored a game- and career-high 29 points in Sunday’s quarterfinal game against Boise State with the Lobos climbing all the way back from down 12 to take a 61-58 lead, but came up one possession and one point short in a 62-61 loss.
Hooks was one of three Lobos to finish in double figures, joined by Cacia Antonio with 12 points and Alyssa Hargrove with 10 points. Antonio also led the Lobos with two steals and brought down eight rebounds, only second to Emma Najjuma’s nine.
UNM had the edge in paint points (34-22), second-chance points (15-7), fast-break points (6-0) and held a 47-39 advantage in rebounds with 17 offensive rebounds. Sunday was only the second time this season that the Lobos have rebounded their opponent and lost.
Both teams took some time to settle in as UNM made one of its first seven shots with BSU making two of its first seven shots, both three-pointers for the 6-2 lead. The Lobos trailed 9-4 midway through the quarter with a Hooks’ layup pulling the Lobos within a possession at 9-6 and again at 11-9. However, the Broncos pushed the deficit back to five on a three-point play with the Lobos trailing by four at 16-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Hooks scored nine points in the first quarter on 4-6 shooting.
A Hargrove three-pointer to open the second quarter brought the Lobos within one 18 seconds in, but answered with a 7-0 run that put the Lobos in a 23-15 deficit and while a Hargrove jumper stopped the run, the Broncos hit consecutive three-pointers to push the margin to 12 with 3:09 left in the quarter. A Hargrove three-pointer got the deficit down to single digits with the Lobos trailing 35-26 at the break.
Hooks and Hargrove combined for 21 of UNM’s 26 points with Hooks leading the Lobos with 13 points and Hargrove at eight points and also accounting for both UNM three-pointers.
The Lobos battled back in the third quarter, cutting the gap to five points on a layup by Jessie Joaquim and steal and fast-break layup by Antonio, although BSU matched it to get the deficit back to 10 midway through the quarter. Three points from Hooks and a Laila Abdurraqib layup restored the five-point margin with an Abdurraqib free throw pulling UNM within four with 2:40 to play in the quarter. A Hargrove jumper with 1:35 remaining gave the Lobo double figures and closed the quarter scoring with the Lobos trailing by four at 46-42.
UNM outscored BSU 16-11 in the third quarter, shooting 46.7%, with 12 points coming in the paint.
While Boise State opened the final quarter with a layup, Antonio went on a personal 6-0 run to tie the game at 48 with 7:26 remaining. The Broncos regained the lead with a jumper, but Hooks gave UNM its first lead of the game on a three-pointer midway through. After BSU pulled ahead 55-53, Hooks answered with a layup to tie the game, and after BSU made a three-pointer, Hooks carried the Lobos, scoring the next six points to give the Lobos the 61-58 lead.
The Broncos made two free throws to cut the Lobo lead to one with 1:16 left with the Lobos missing a three-pointer with 51 seconds left. Antonio grabbed the offensive rebound to maintain UNM possession, with Hooks drawing a foul with 36 seconds left. Hooks’ shot with 20 seconds left was blocked, and following a timeout, the Broncos scored with 6.5 seconds left. Hooks drew a foul with four seconds remaining, but was only the fourth team foul, giving the Lobos the ball out of bounds under the basket. A last-second layup was missed with Najjuma getting the rebound and unable to put it back up as time expired.
Hooks had 11 points in the fourth quarter with Antonio adding six, with the Lobos outscoring the Broncos 35-27 in the final 20 minutes.