University of New Mexico basketball women end brief skid, blister Nevada

Randy Harrison, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
Updated ·3 min read
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Jan. 11—There was no sluggish start for the University of New Mexico women's basketball team this time.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

After stumbling out of the starting gates twice on last week's 0-2 road trip to Wyoming and Colorado State, the Lobos hit a full spring early Wednesday night in the Pit. Visiting Nevada never caught up.

LaTascya Duff and Viané Cumber scored 15 points apiece, UNM shot 62% over the first three quarters and coasted to an 88-58 victory in front of a delighted announced crowd of 4,607.

LaTora Duff (12 points, six assists), Paula Reus (11 points, eight rebounds) and Aniyah Augmon (career-best 11 points) also scored in double figures for the Lobos (10-7, 2-2 Mountain West). UNM's offense was electric for the first three quarters as the home team shot 62% and led by as many as 38 points.

"Well, it's better than what we did on the last road trip," Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said of his team's torrid start. "Clearly it was important and I thought we executed really well offensively. We had two really good days of practice, and the things we worked on carried over."

UNM's ball movement was particularly efficient against the Wolf Pack's high-pressure defense. The Lobos beat the pressure with back-cuts to the basket and cashed in on 3-point opportunities as it built a comfortable lead.

Cumber started 5-for-5 from 3-point range before missing her last two attempts and the Lobos barely seemed troubled when leading scorer Shaiquel McGruder went to the bench with two early fouls. UNM led 24-9 after one quarter and 49-22 at halftime, when McGruder had only two points.

"That was good to see," Bradbury said of his team's share-the-wealth production. "V (Cumber) stepped in and took Shai's minutes and made the most of them. We didn't really miss a beat."

Augmon also had a strong performance off the bench and was all smiles after the game. The sophomore said it was important to bounce back after the team's disappointing road trip.

"It felt really good to play like this coming off those road games," Augmon said. "We wanted to play a high-energy game and we had that energy tonight. There was a big emphasis on starting the game off strong — winning those first five minutes and putting the pressure on (the Wolf Pack)."

The Lobos accomplished that goal with an 11-0 run midway through the first quarter. Amaya Brown scored on a back-cut pass from LaTascya Duff, and Duff followed with a fast-break layup and a three-point play to ignite the rally.

Duff, who hit two 3-pointers to reach 199 for her UNM career, credited her team's defense for setting a positive tone. The Lobos limited Nevada (5-10, 2-2) to 32.4% shooting and outrebounded the visitors 41-39.

"Our offense was most definitely clicking," Duff said, "and that happens when you play good defense. We played with energy on the defensive end, and it carried over to offense."

UNM led 76-38 after three quarters and Bradbury had already emptied his bench. The starters returned briefly after a 6-0 Nevada run, but they soon returned to the bench.

Alyssa Jimenez scored 14 points and Victoria Davis had 13 for the Wolf Pack.

Box score: New Mexico 88, Nevada 58

SATURDAY: UNM women at UNLV, 7 p.m., FS1, 610 AM/95.9 FM