Lobos handle San Jose State in hunt for top spot
Taking care of business. That’s basically what the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team is trying to do this week as it embarked on a critical two-game road swing through central California on Wednesday night.
Sitting a game out of first place in the Mountain West Conference to start the week, the Lobos got the first step out of the way by beating San Jose State 79-60 on Wednesday to keep pace with Boise State atop the league standings.
The Lobos (20-3 overall and 10-2 in the MWC) trailed 13-11 late in the first quarter but came to life when an Aisia Robertson 3-pointer sparked a 10-1 run to end the period. It was part of a larger, most dominant 37-8 stretch heading into halftime.
The margin grew to as many as 30 points in the second half when UNM used a revolving door of lineup changes to close things out. It allowed SJSU to get the final margin under 20, but never close enough to make things even remotely interesting.
Jaisa Nunn finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds while Robertson, who grew up in the Bay Area, had 16 points and eight rebounds to go with five assists in what amounted to a homecoming game.
Ahlise Hurst was the only other Lobo in double figures with 12 points. Jayla Everett and Antonia Anderson each had nine points, although those two were a combined 6-for-20 shooting.
San Jose State turned the ball over 26 times, most of them coming in the first half when the game got out of hand. Both Robertson and Madi Washington finished the game with four steals as the Spartans struggled from start to finish with UNM’s quicker, more athletic lineup.
The Lobos head to Fresno State on Saturday. Fresno lost a critical matchup with first-place Boise State (20-3, 11-1) in other action Wednesday, dropping two games behind UNM and into a tie for third with Wyoming.
The Lobos have now posted 20 wins for a second straight season, the first time they’ve done that since former head coach Don Flanagan did it nine years in a row between the 2000-01 and 2008-09 seasons.