The New Mexico women's basketball team rattled off another win — its 11th in a row — after holding on for a 66-64 road win over the Nevada Wolfpack.
New Mexico (12-1, 2-0 MW) got off to a hot start, scoring the first six points of the game. Freshman guard Jayla Everett tallied the first points with a jumper after the teams traded turnovers in the opening minute. She tacked on a pair of free throws a few minutes later to give UNM a 6-0 lead at the 6:30 mark.
The Wolfpack responded by going to work in the paint, stringing together a 9-2 run to take their first lead of the game after a Terae Briggs layup.
UNM was able to even things up, but gave up a fifth layup in the final minute and trailed 11-9 after one quarter of play.
New Mexico created some separation by erupting for 21 points in the second quarter and the guards started getting the 3-ball going. Jaedyn de la Cerda launched one to give the Lobos a brief lead and Everett reclaimed it when she connected from long range to put her team up 15-13.
Everett struck again later in the quarter to tilt the score in the Lobos' favor and Aisia Robertson added a fourth 3-pointer of the period to stretch the advantage to 27-19. UNM maintained that lead and held a 30-22 edge after one half of play.
Everett led all scorers at the break with 10 first-half points, while Nevada's Briggs collected a team-high six points. The 3-point line was essentially the difference, where the Wolfpack went 0-of-8 in the first half.
The teams traded buckets for much of the third quarter, but Nevada started to inch closer on the scoreboard — cutting the deficit to four points a couple of times in the first five minutes.
Robertson quelled the mini-runs both times and scored seven straight points for her squad, culminating with another 3-pointer that increased the bulge to 39-30 with 4:23 to play in the frame.
Nevada came roaring back again though — hitting a couple of 3-pointers and evening things up at 44-44 with under a minute remaining. UNM was able to sneak back ahead after a making a pair of free throws and then getting a put-back by Shaiquel McGruder in the final seconds.
The Lobos seemed to take control in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, scoring the first seven points of the frame to seize a 55-44 advantage following a long-range shot by Everett.
Robertson went to work again to help stymie Nevada's comeback efforts, getting an old-fashioned 3-point play after getting fouled on a layup and making the free throw to make the score 60-50 with 5:21 left in the game.
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Nevada made another push though, making five straight shots from the field to pull within three points and continued to close the gap despite Robertson's sharpshooting. Robertson scored another layup with 3:37 to play to make it 64-59, but the Lobos came up empty on the next three trips down the court to leave the door open.
The Wolfpack was able to tie the score at 64-64 on a Camariah King jumper and had a chance to take the lead on the next possession. But McGruder forced a steal and get the ball out to Robertson for a fast-break layup to put the Lobos back on top with under a minute to play.
Nevada missed out on a chance to tie the game again after a layup didn't go down, but got a second life when the Lobos turned the ball over in the waning seconds. Da'Ja Hamilton got a look at a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but her attempt was off the mark and the Lobos held on for the 66-64 win.
Robertson tallied nine points in the fourth quarter and the Lobos needed all of them. She finished with a game-high 21 points and snagged five steals, but perhaps more importantly, came up big when her team needed her most.
Everett ended up with 16 points, while Ahlise Hurst chipped in 10.
Turnovers played a crucial role in the game. Although both teams committed a relatively high number — 21 by Nevada and 18 for New Mexico — UNM held a 27-11 edge in points scored off turnovers.
New Mexico will remain on the road and face UNLV on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.
