On Sunday, Nov. 16, the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team was out for revenge in Las Cruces looking to take down the New Mexico State Aggies, who swept the Lobos last year. The Aggies led the rivalry in the last five games 3-2, but throughout his tenure, Lobos Head Coach Mike Bradbury dominated the Aggies 11-4. This game followed suit, snapping NMSU’s win streak of two, with a Lobo triumph of 77-45.
The Lobos showed how deep their bench can get, as it accounted for 36 points, with 10 of the Lobos getting a bucket in their dominant performance over the Aggies. Sophomore guard Nayli Padilla came off the bench as the leading scorer for UNM with 14 points, going four of five from three, and grabbing six boards in 25 minutes. The Lobos, for the second time in a row, outrebounded their opponent by a double-digit margin, 43-31.
The Rio Grande Rivalry had a slow start for both the Lobos and Aggies, as in the first period alone, both teams were shooting under 26% from the field and were unable to knock a three-pointer.
UNM took advantage in the paint early on as forward and center Clarissa Craig and forward Jessie Joaquim led the Lobos with eight of the team’s 10 first quarter points. The Lobos were unable to do what they do best early in the game, as they turned over the ball just as much as the Aggies, making it difficult to gain points on turnovers or push the ball in transition. The first quarter ended with NMSU outscoring UNM 11-10.
The score changed rapidly at the start of the second period, as just before halftime, UNM outscored NMSU 28-4, as the Lobos caught on fire offensively while NMSU stayed frozen.
The Lobos ended the first half shooting 50% from the field and 56% from three, as the Aggies were just unable to contain UNM, which made it difficult for NMSU to get any momentum on offense. The Aggies stayed disoriented on offense as they finished shooting a mere 16% from the field and 0% from three.
Once again, the bench showed out for UNM as nine different Lobos scored in the first half of the game and took credit for 17 of the Lobos’ points. The Lobos’ presence in the paint, which accounted for 18 points, allowed UNM to get inside-out threes that started raining, accounting for 15 points. The score at halftime ended at 38-15 with the Lobos on top.
Coming out of the break, the Lobos did not let the foot off the gas, shooting 69% from the field and 50% from three in the third quarter, which put the dagger in NMSU’s hopes of mounting a massive comeback.
The Lobos went on a 14-0 run, and the Aggies couldn’t hit water if they were on a boat, as even wide-open looks wouldn’t fall.The Aggies shot 21% and again were unable to make a three. The Lobos once again outscored the Aggies for the second quarter in a row by double figures; going into the fourth quarter, UNM led 61-25.
The Lobos finished the game by shooting 54% on the night and 46% from three-point range, while the Aggies finished with a lowly 27% inthe field and a chilly 14% from three. All of NMSU’s three pointers came from the fourth quarter, in which the Aggies were able to get some movement and shots to fall to outscore the Lobos in the final quarter of the game, moving the Lobos’ win to 77-45.
UNM was able to force 19 turnovers from 10 steals, with 18 points off turnovers, but these dividends were nearly offset by the Lobos turning over the ball 23 times, from eight steals, and 11 points off turnovers from NMSU.
Though the Lobos ran the Aggies out of the Pan American Center, they shot free throws at 64.3%, down from the 87% from their last game against New Orleans.
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The Lobos will be back in action at home on Thursday, Nov. 20 hosting the University of Tennessee at Martin Skyhawks in The Pit.
Wyatt S. Padilla is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @wyattspadilla
