The new kids on the block in the Mountain West, the Grand Canyon University Antelopes, were blessed with a victory against the University of New Mexico Lobos women’s basketball team, winning 75-62 on Saturday Jan. 17. The Lopes came into the Pit with a 5-12 record, but tied UNM in the Mountain West standings at 4-3.
The Lobos entered on an unusual losing slide that included a homecourt loss to Nevada and a brutal 17-point road loss to San Diego State, hoping to right the ship with a return to The Pit. GCU, however, had different plans and handed UNM its third loss in a row, as well as its third loss in The Pit this season.
UNM and GCU started the game trading buckets as each team began to find its rhythm and tempo. Both teams were shooting the ball at a high rate — the Lobos at 38% from the field and the Lopes at a stellar 46% in the first quarter.
Grand Canyon refused to allow New Mexico to stop them from scoring, taking over and outscoring the Lobos by 10 points in the second quarter while shooting a whopping 56% from the field, as UNM’s signature defense fell flat. The Lopes capitalized off the Lobos’ mistakes, turning defense into offense with 13 points off turnovers in the first half.
The Lopes went into halftime leading the Lobos 41-30, something that UNM has struggled with all year, as they hold a 0-5 record in games when down going into the half.
The second half was a never-ending game of catch-up that resulted in a brief comeback attempt for the Lobos. UNM created some defense to offense in the third period with a 7-0 run to close the deficit to just four, which came from a guard Nayli Padilla steal and guard Cacia Antonio layup.
However, the Lobos were unable to meet the moment, and the Lopes mounted an offensive clinic on a lackluster UNM defense. The Lopes continued to have the hot hand, shooting 50% in the fourth quarter while UNM went 39% from the field, unable to match the Lopes unrelenting streak.
UNM also struggled to keep control of the ball and ended with 19 turnovers which allowed GCU to score an additional 20 points. The result was a GCU team seemingly unable to miss, leading the Lobos by as much as 18 points in the fourth quarter, with late offensive action from guard Kaia Foster and point guard Laila Abdurraqib cutting the deficit to just 13 points by the final buzzer.
The Lopes out-hustled the Lobos to a final score of 75-62, as the Lobos fall to 12-7 and 4-4 in Mountain West play, putting them in fifth place in the conference outside of the first-round bye in the Mountain West Tournament, awarded to teams that finish top four of league play standings.
The Lobos were led in scoring once again by guard Detinee Hooks, who scored 17 points and went 5-13 from the field.
Following Hooks was forward Jessie Joaquim’s breakout performance of 12 points, going 6-8 from the field with 12 rebounds, securing a double-double on her first start with UNM. Despite Joaquim’s stellar performance around the glass, the Lobos were outrebounded 41-32; 11 of GCUs’ rebounds were offensive boards that led to 11 second-chance points for the Lopes.
The Lobos will hit the road for a battle with the Air Force Academy Falcons on Saturday, Jan. 24, and will be back in action at The Pit on Jan. 28 as they host the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels.
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Wyatt S. Padilla is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @wyattspadilla
