In a clash of titans, the University of New Mexico Lobos and Texas Tech University Red Raiders met in The Pit on Sunday, Nov. 23, with the Raiders ultimately defeating the Lobos 82-57.
The game featured a strong Lobo team — who have been blowing out opponents by an average of 26 points over the last four games, outrebounding opponents by double digits, and have held their last two opponents, including New Mexico State University, to only 45 points — against the Big 12 leader, Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders had started the season 6-0, defeated power conference teams Mississippi State University, Southern Methodist University and University of Arkansas, outscoring opponents by a margin of 25 points, barely outrebounding opponents and demonstrating grit to the end of each possession. It’s fair to say the match was greatly anticipated.
UNM and Texas Tech came out swinging on defense, which defined the game as turnovers and steals were happening left, right, and center on both teams, with the whistle from the refs howling through the building. Lobos suffered from poor shooting, and guard Destinee Hooks not heating up until less than five minutes before halftime, as nine of her 10 points before halftime came in that span.
UNM shot 29% in the first half of the game, and went four of 16 from the three-point line as they settled for poor transition shots, rather than getting into set offense to create their inside-out three pointers that made the Lobos a three-point threat. Texas Tech, on the other hand, was able to shoot 45% from the field, 44% from three, and 75% from the free-throw line.
The Red Raiders sped the Lobos up, which created problems on the offensive side of the ball for UNM and kept them from being able to press Texas Tech on defense. The Lobos kept it within 10 at halftime, as the score was 39-29.
The second half of the game was all Texas Tech, as the Red Raiders were able to outscore the Lobos 43-28, and the Lobos were never able to truly find their footing again. Texas Tech dominated UNM in the paint, scoring 26 of their points in the paint during the second half and outrebounding the Lobos by a plus-five margin.
The Lobos shot a bit better, rounding their full-game shooting percentages to 32% from the field and 23% from three, but once again, the Lobos were shooting some ill-advised threes in the second half as they went three of 15 from deep. Much of the Lobos’ woes were thanks to Texas Tech’s defense, as they were making UNM uncomfortable for the majority of the game on the Lobos’ home court.
A key statistic in this matchup is the number of turnovers each team has been forcing. The Red Raiders force an average of 21.3 turnovers a game, 10.6 steals, and 21.9 points from those turnovers, which is something the Lobos have taken as their bread and butter; since the start of the season, UNM has forced an average of 18.5 turnovers and 12 steals per game.
Head Coach Mike Bradbury spoke on the lack of defense to offense that the Lobos have hung their hat on.
“We didn’t give ourselves enough opportunities to turn them over. I thought in the first half, we did a good job, we were on pace, but in the second half, we couldn’t make a shot, give them credit for that, so we just couldn’t get into the press,” Bradbury said.
Hooks led the Lobos to a game high of 24 points, five rebounds,and two steals, while point guard Laila Abdurraqib came off the bench, scoring six of the Lobos’ seven bench points.
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Both Hooks and Abdurraqib admitted there are a couple of key lessons for the Lobos to take from this loss heading into their Thanksgiving week Florida Gulf Classic Tournament.
“One big thing is getting back on defense, and in transition, they had 23 points off turnovers, and they had a lot of second-chance points. We got to get back on defense and match up,” Hooks said.
The Lobos will start an away stretch in the Florida Gulf Classic tournament against Chicago State University and University of Cincinnati, then will play at The University of Arizona, and finally return home on Dec. 13 against University of Houston.
Wyatt S. Padilla is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @wyattspadilla
