Lobo women blast Aggies
Dominant first quarter leads to 83-58 romp at home
The starting blocks determined the winner Saturday at Dreamstyle Arena.
The University of New Mexico Lobos got off to a flying start while the New Mexico State Aggies stumbled out of the blocks in round one of this season’s women’s basketball Rio Grande Rivalry.
UNM raced to a 28-12 lead after one quarter and NMSU never caught up. Aisia Robertson scored 23 points and set the pace in New Mexico’s 83-58 win in front of an announced 5,327 fans.
The Lobos (5-1) picked up their fourth straight win on the strength of 40 fastbreak points and a 27-7 advantage in bench scoring. The Aggies (4-2) got a game-high 26 points from Gia Pack but never got closer than a 15-point deficit after the first quarter.
“I thought from about five minutes in until the middle of the second quarter, we were really good,” UNM coach Mike Bradbury said. “We defended, converted in transition and A.R. (Robertson) did a great job. She helped get us a little separation and that was big.”
Robertson put a 1-for-13 shooting night against Oklahoma in the rearview mirror quickly on Saturday, attacking the basket and often beating NMSU’s defense down the court. She finished 11-for-17 from the field and had six assists and six turnovers in 30 minutes of action.
“We have to do better stopping the fast break,” NMSU coach Brooke Atkinson said. “Robertson is so fast once she gets going downhill, and in the first half we never really slowed her down.”
UNM also shot well early, hitting five 3-pointers in the opening quarter. Jaisa Nunn drained back-to-back 3s on her way to a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds), but it was an extended run sandwiched around the end of the first quarter that effectively put the Lobos on cruise control.
With New Mexico leading 15-12, Ahlise Hurst and Robertson swished consecutive 3-pointers to ignite the Lobos and their fans. Jaedyn De La Cerda scored a pair of fast-break layups during a 17-0 surge that gave UNM a 32-12 cushion early in the second quarter.
“We talk about great start, great finish,” Atkinson said, “and we didn’t have either one. We’re not going to win many games giving up 83 points. UNM got it rolling.”
Hurst, who was coming off a monster 39-point outing against Oklahoma, did not find as many openings Saturday but chipped in 11 points. She had plenty of help, however, as 11 players saw action and 10 scored for the Lobos. De La Cerda (nine points, four assists) and Antonia Anderson (eight points, five rebounds, two blocks) had particularly big days off UNM’s bench.
“Our bench did play really well,” Bradbury said. “That was probably their best game overall.”
NMSU’s bench remains something of a work in progress. The Aggies lost junior transfer Nana Sule to a seasonending knee injury in their Nov. 17 win at UTEP, and graduate transfer Stabresa McDaniel will become eligible for the team’s next game, Dec. 11 against Denver, Atkinson said.
But UNM had a clear edge in depth Saturday and rode it to the finish line. Lobo reserves scored the final 17 points as New Mexico wrapped up its third straight win in the series. The teams
square off again Dec. 15 in Las Cruces.
Adenike Aderinto finished with 12 points, while Brooke Salas notched a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) for NMSU. But Salas, the Aggies’ leading scorer at 17 points per game coming in, was just 5-for-17 from the field and was closely guarded throughout the game.
“I thought defensively we were really good,” Bradbury said. “Pack just kind of rose over us and made shots. She’s done that to us before, too. It wasn’t bad defense; she’s just good.”