The University of New Mexico women's basketball team suffered a 67-56 loss to the San Diego State Aztecs in the Mountain West Conference tournament. The game took place on Monday, March 11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Lobos were the No. 2 seed facing the No. 6 seed Aztecs.
The Lobos did finish the season with multiple regular season honors. Backcourt duo Aniyah Augmon and Nyah Wilson were both named to the All-Conference Team. Augmon also earned the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year Award and made the All-Defensive Team. Wilson earned the Newcomer of the Year Award and Head Coach Mike Bradbury was awarded with Coach of the Year.
Shooting struggles is what prevented UNM from taking a lead in the game. As a team, they shot 20-51 from the field, 3-17 from the three-point line and 13-21 on free throws.
The Lobos had two players in double-digit scoring. Wilson scored 22 points and Augmon had 10 points and seven rebounds. Hulda Joaquim had a good game off the bench, scoring nine points on 4-4 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.
The Aztecs were coming off their win against San José State the day prior and appeared to stay warmed up, starting the game on a 7-0 run. The Lobos missed their first 10 three-point attempts in the game and had difficulty scoring all game.
At halftime, the Lobos were down 39-28 and scored seven points in the third quarter. UNM maintained their defense throughout the game but a late offensive surge wasn't enough to propel them to victory.
It is unlikely that the Lobos will be invited to a postseason tournament with a NET ranking of 152. The Pit will also be unavailable this upcoming weekend due to Professional Bull Riding’s Ty Murray Invitational.
UNM will likely have the option to participate in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament but would have to pay to be invited and participate in an interview with the Albuquerque Journal Athletic Director Eddie Nuñez who said he’s not a fan of pay-to-play tournaments.
“I’m not a fan of paying to play in a tournament,” he said, “especially one that’s not considered one of the top two tiers. There are exceptions. You always want to consider whether playing benefits your team or your athletic program. Not having The Pit available and knowing we’d probably have to travel weighs into it, too.”
Thomas Bulger is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thomasbulger10
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Thomas Bulger is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thomasbulger10
