On Sunday, Nov. 9, the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team hosted the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Aggies. The Lobos were forced to rely on defensive pressure as the Aggies were a tough bug to swat away.
New Mexico’s offense had its moments, allowing the Lobos to stay in pace or jump ahead, but overall could be disjointed, as they were forced to work for their 71-64 win. That is not to say the flow of the game was serene; it was more like hitting every light on Central Ave., as 44 fouls were called, half of which were on UNM.
Lobo guard Destinee Hooks led UNM in scoring, as the junior had 20 points, shooting 46% on the night, drawing three steals and gaining four boards.
Guard Nayli Padilla had a career high of 15 points and hit two back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter, sparking an offensive run of 10-0 to put the Lobos on top for the rest of the game.
Defense was key for the Lobos in the first two quarters of the game as they struggled to get anything going offensively due to shot selection and disjointed movement.
The Lobos finished the first half of the game shooting 37% after ending the first quarter at 25%. The biggest struggles in the half for the Lobos came from the three-point line, from which they went two of 10, and the free-throw line, once again, as the team shot 44%. Hooks finished the first half with nine points, but struggled to get going early on in the game.
UNM was able to force 16 turnovers in the first half of the game, as 11 of those turnovers came from the Lobos stealing the ball, and three came from sophomore guard Joana Magallhaes.
The Lobos held the Aggies to 35% shooting but allowed the visiting team to shoot 57% from the three, which allowed North Carolina to stay in the game. New Mexico led at the break, 32-26, as Hooks was finally able to get going in the final five minutes of the half, scoring eight points.
Coming out of halftime, the Lobos were once again able to come out with a scoring run of nine to two, putting the Lobos up 13 points, their largest lead of the game.
That is when things went from good to bad, as UNM then went three of 16, which allowed for the Aggies to outscore UNM 29-15, putting the Aggies up 57-55 with about five minutes to go.
Padilla sparked a 10-0 run with a pair of threes that put the Lobos in control of the rest of the game, as UNM wouldn’t allow the Aggies to come back into the game for the final five minutes.
Padilla was more than happy to get her opportunity to shine in the Pit.
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“I’ve been working really hard, the team has been working really hard, and for me this is really, really good,” Padilla said.
The Lobos were overall able to get their game shooting percentages to 38% and 29% from three compared to the never-quitting Aggies’ shooting percentages of 40% and 55% from three.
Though the Aggies shooting percentages were high, that does not mean the Lobos’ defense was abysmal, as UNM forced a total of 24 turnovers from 16 steals which led to 31 points scored off turnovers alone.
The Aggies forced UNM to 16 turnovers, which didn’t help the Lobos’ offense in their struggles. A weak spot for UNM was rebounding, as UNM was outrebounded by the slight margin of 37-35, much of which was affected by center Clarissa Craig being in foul trouble.
The Lobos will return to play at home on Wednesday, Nov. 12, against the University of New Orleans Privateers at 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
