ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The Lobos defeated MSU Denver 93-59 in their exhibition Monday night behind balanced scoring and efficient shooting from behind the arc.
Five players finished in double figures, including four starters, with UNM having 23 assists on 29 made baskets, 14 three-pointers and shooting 53.7% from the floor.
Katie Duncan paced the Lobo scoring with a game-high 18 points on six three-pointers, while Savannah Stricker was the second-leading scorer for UNM at 13 points, going 2-2 from behind the arc. Keiara Curtis added 12 points off of the bench, while Drew Jordon and Laila Abdurraqib contributed 10 points apiece.
Nine different Lobos were credited with an assist, seven with multiple assists, led by four from Abdurraqib and Maya Thompson.
Defensively, UNM forced 16 steals and 22 turnovers, with Abdurraqib leading the Lobos with four steals, Gracie Kelsey and Ducan with three steals apiece, Stricker with two steals and four players with one.
A Stricker steal led to an Abdurraqib three-pointer to open the scoring on UNM’s second possession with MSU Denver matching it on the other end. However, the Lobos trailed 8-4 at the media timeout with Abdurraqib accounting for all four points.
Out of the media timeout, two Kelsey free throws started what would be a 7-0 run in a span of 43 seconds, with a Kelsey steal that led to a Stricker basket and a Curtis three-pointer all part of the run and the final lead change.
The Lobos led by as many as six in the first quarter with UNM leading 19-14 at the end of the first.
Layups by Kelsey and Jordon stretched the lead to nine to start the second quarter with a 7-0 run behind two Thomson free throws, a Duncan three and a Curtis steal and fast-break layup stretching the margin to 14 points three minutes into the quarter.
A MSU Denver 10-0 run cut the margin to four before a Kelsey layup off a Thompson assist ended the run with 3:19 left to play.
The Lobos closed with a 12-1 run over the final 3:19 and an 8-0 run in the final 1:53 to lead 42-27 at the break.
Duncan led with 12 points behind four three-pointers to go with two steals and two assists.
The Lobos opened the third on a 9-0 run, amounting to a 17-0 run between the end of the second and start of the third, with the lead holding steady and eventually building to 29 on a Curtis three-pointer with 3:27 remaining before the Roadrunners got it down to 20 with under a minute to play. Two Curtis free throws closed the quarter with UNM holding a 67-45 lead.
MSU Denver got as close as 20, 19 seconds into the fourth quarter with the Lobos responding with two Kate Wernli free throws and a Duncan three-pointer. UNM added an 8-0 run midway through the quarter on a final Duncan three-pointer, a three-pointer by Thompson and a Kelsey steal and Stricker fast-break layup to push the margin to 30 points at 80-50.
Curtis closed the scoring with an offensive rebound and jumper with 35 seconds remaining for the final 34-point victory.
UNM shot 60.7% in the second half, outscoring the Roadrunners 51-32.
The Lobos open up the regular season on Nov. 2 at 11 a.m. against Seattle on MW+.