ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— In the first week of the season, the Lobos earned their first Mountain West conference award of the season as Laila Abdurraqib was named the Old Trapper Mountain West Player of the Week.
Monday’s selection marks the third for the Indiana native, who earned Mountain West Freshman of the Week twice last season.
Abdurraqib led the Lobos in scoring and rebounds on the week with 17.5 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game, leading the Lobos in scoring in both games and leading the team in rebounds against Seattle and tied for the lead against New Mexico Highlands.
The Lobo recorded her first double-double in the season opener behind a game-high 20 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, as well as had three assists and two steals in a career-high 30:02 in only her second collegiate start.
Her first points in the season opener came on a steal and fast-break layup, with Abdurraqib scoring four points with two rebounds, an assist and a steal in the first quarter. Abdurraqib scored nine points in the third quarter with her basket tying the game at 43 and a three-point play that gave UNM a 48-47 lead after trailing by four. An Abdurraqib steal and layup made it a 7-0 Lobo run with the second year Lobo accounting for five of the points. Her final points in the quarter came off another fast-break layup that pushed UNM’s lead to seven. She closed with five-straight Lobo points in the fourth quarter on an offensive rebound and putback and a three-pointer.
Abdurraqib added 15 points against NMHU to go with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. The guard had an assist, defensive rebound, offensive rebound and layup in the first 2:35 of the game as UNM scored the first eight points of the game against the Cowgirls.
At the start of the third quarter, Abdurraqib made a three-pointer on UNM’s first possession, added a layup and assisted on a layup, having a hand in all seven Lobo points within the first two minutes. She added a three-pointer midway through the quarter that pushed UNM’s lead to 20 and added four free throws and a steal, scoring a total of 12 points in the quarter. Of note, Abdurraqib nearly outscored NMHU in the quarter with the Cowgirls scoring 14 points.
The Lobos are on the road for two games this week before returning home to face Colorado on Nov. 18.