Not necessarily pretty, but it got the job done.
The University of New Mexico women’s basketball took a different approach to Thursday night’s game against Colorado State at the Pit. It was by necessity.
With starting forward Paula Reus out with an injury, and with UNM’s usual assortment of 3-point shots not falling, the Lobos found a way to grind out a much-needed 64-59 win.
Shaiquel McGruder played the entire 40 minutes and made them count, finishing with a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds. Viané Cumber chipped in 12 points and seven boards, starting in place of Reus and playing a career-high 37 minutes.
But the more significant numbers were not necessarily staples for the Lobos, who won the rebound battle 45-38, grabbed 12 offensive boards and outscored CSU 12-5 on second-chance points, and fought their way to the foul line. UNM went 14-of-19 at the line. The Rams went 8-for-10.
“Good win for us,” Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said. “Colorado State is so disciplined and well-coached, it’s always going to be hard. But our kids were locked in defensively and really stuck to the plan.”
It was a back-and-forth game throughout, with the Lobos (12-9, 4-4 Mountain West) and Rams (13-7, 6-3) exchanging scoring runs. The score was tied at 59 when CSU’s McKenna Hofschild hit a driving layup with 38 seconds left.
But Aniyah Augmon answered with a transition basket in the post to give UNM the lead eight seconds later. From there, the Rams missed a pair of 3-point attempts, and Cumber and McGruder combined to hit 3-of-4 free throws to ice the win.
It was critical win for UNM, which dropped a 76-65 decision at Colorado State on Jan. 7. The Lobos trailed 21-4 in that contest and never got closer than an 11-point margin the rest of the way.
“We didn’t play very well in Colorado,” Cumber said, “but we were locked in this week. We knew this was a really important game and we worked as hard as we have all year in practice. It carried over to the game.”
McGruder, who played a full 40 minutes for the first time in a non-overtime game, scored 14 of her points in the second half.
“I didn’t even realize I never came out,” she said when asked about her complete-game effort. “I didn’t feel tired at the end, so I guess that’s a good sign. It was really cool to play the way we did and get this win.”
UNM was solid defensively, holding the MWC’s highest scoring team 19 points below its average. Star point guard Hofschild led the Rams with 18 points but went just 7-for-16 from the field.
“To be honest, part of that was probably just a tough night for her,” Bradbury said. “I thought we defended her pretty well, but she missed some shots she usually makes. I thought we did, too.”
Amaya Brown finished with nine points and seven rebounds for the Lobos.
BOX SCORE: UNM 64, Colorado State 59
SATURDAY: Utah State at UNM, 2 p.m., 610 AM/95.9 FM, themw.com
