Thomas Bulger is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thomasbulger10
The baseball team faced the Fresno State Bulldogs over the weekend. Aside from a win on Sunday, they lost two out of the three games. The team was on an eight-game losing streak prior to Sunday. Friday, April 12, the Lobos lost 10-5. The Bulldogs had a balanced offense with everyone in the lineup earning a hit. For the Lobos, Konner Kinkade led the team with three hits.
The baseball team lost two games against Sam Houston State University over the weekend. In Friday’s matchup, the Lobos lost a high scoring game 23-14 and lost Sunday 14-3. Saturday’s match was canceled due to high winds. The game will not be rescheduled.
The University of New Mexico men's basketball team earned their first Mountain West Championship since 2014. Over Spring Break, the Lobos won four games in four days to secure a spot in March Madness. The championship run was the result of a balanced effort from the team but was fueled by Tournament MVP Jaelen House. Three Lobos were named to the All-Tournament team: House, Jamal Mashburn Jr. and JT Toppin.
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.
The University of New Mexico women's basketball team lost to the Nevada Wolf Pack 83-82 for their final regular season game at The Pit. After an Aniyah Augmon jump shot put the team up by two points with four seconds remaining, Nevada's Lexie Givens rebounded a missed three-pointer for a layup and gave her team the win with an and-1 free throw. The Lobos fell to 11-6 in conference play but are in second place overall in the conference standings with one regular season game remaining. Wyoming also has a record of 11-6 but the University of New Mexico swept the Cowgirls in the season series. With a win on Tuesday, the Lobos could clinch the second seed for the conference tournament, but if Wyoming and Boise State win their respective games and the Lobos lose, they will fall to the fourth seed.
Pedro Lopez will return as the Isotopes manager for the 2024 season – his second season at the helm. Last year the team went 68-82 overall and finished second place in their division in the second half of the season. Last year the Isotopes started their roster with Nolan Jones and Brenton Doyle who quickly got called to the Colorado Rockies after hot starts to the year. Lopez has been a minor league coach for 20 seasons and has an overall record of 1047 - 1059, according to Minor League Baseball. This will be his fourth season on the Isotopes staff.
The University of New Mexico’s women's basketball team lost to the University of Nevada Las Vegas 62-56 on Saturday, Feb 3. Both teams were on winning streaks, UNLV improved to four straight wins and ended UNM’s five-game winning streak. UNM fell to 16-7 overall and 7-3 in conference play – putting them in third place in the standings past the halfway mark of the season. The Lobos played well but fell a couple shots short of sweeping the back-to-back conference champs. Going back to the 2022-23 season, the Rebels are 30-1 against Mountain West opponents, including the conference tournament with their one loss coming from the Lobos a few weeks ago.
New Mexico United announced Luke Sanford will be promoted to first assistant coach in a press release on Jan. 25. Sanford first joined the team in Jan. 2022 and has held a variety of positions. He has served as an assistant to the team but has acted as the head coach of both the U-23 team and the United Academy. He also served as the director of the Academy, according to the press release. United’s Sporting Director, Itamar Keinan, said in the press release that Sanford has earned his promotion due to his leadership.
The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team took down the Fresno State Bulldogs 84-77 on Wednesday, Jan. 24, making the Lobos third straight win. The Lobos are now 14-6 overall and 5-2 in conference play. The Lobos had a very balanced offense against the Bulldogs with four Lobos scoring in double-digits. Nyah Wilson led the team in scoring with 24 points and went 10-12 at the free throw line. Wilson is going through Mountain West play for the first time this season. After the game, she talked about how fun it is to play against teams that have different styles.
On Wednesday, Jan. 17, the Lobos took down the Wyoming Cowgirls in a 68-61 win. The Cowgirls were one of the two undefeated teams in the four conference games of the season. The Lobos are now 12-6 overall and 3-2 in conference play. In a game where the Lobos missed seven of them, free throws were a huge factor in the game. The Lobos went 21-28 from the free throw line that came from constantly driving to the basket. The Cowgirls shot five free throws in the entire game and missed two. From the three-point line, the Cowgirls shot 7-30 but made a couple late to keep the game close. The Lobos went 3-10 in the game.
Solutions by The State News
