Which of you has the best finishing kick?
It’s a pertinent question for seven Mountain West women’s basketball teams who are tightly bunched in the standings heading into the season’s final stretch.
No one figures to catch UNLV. The 25th-ranked Rebels are unbeaten in MWC play and have a four-game lead over their nearest pursuers with six games remaining.
How the next seven spots in the standings will shake out is anyone’s guess. Three teams (Colorado State, San Diego State, Wyoming) have four league losses, three teams (Boise State, Air Force New Mexico) have five, and Nevada has six.
“We’re all right there together,” Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said. “Whoever wins now and puts a run together can separate themselves.”
UNM (14-10, 6-5) will try to make its move playing the first of two key road games Thursday at Boise State (12-13, 7-5). The Lobos travel to Nevada (9-14, 6-6) on Saturday.
New Mexico beat both teams at the Pit in January, but winning on the road is different matter. The Lobos are just 1-4 in conference road games and they’ll need to improve that mark to earn a favorable seeding position for next month’s MWC tournament.
Boise State has won three straight and four of five since a 76-68 loss to UNM on Jan. 21. The Broncos feature a physical front line with juniors Abby Musue and Elodie Lalotte, but their starting rotation is one of the youngest in the league with four freshmen playing key roles.
“Those freshmen are good players,” Bradbury said. “They make 3s and really open things up for their posts.”
UNM, on the other hand, has gotten a major boost from its sophomore class. Forwards Viané Cumber, Paula Reus and guard Aniyah Augmon have been providing consistent scoring and rebounding over the last three games.
Reus sat out UNM’s home win over Colorado State on Jan. 26 with an ankle injury and has been coming off the bench with Cumber starting. The formula has been effective. In three games the sophomores have combined for 123 points and 44 rebounds.
“I just think they’re growing up,” Bradbury said. “They don’t have to think so much when they’re on the court, and that makes a difference. They’re playing well.”
Cumber and Reus continue to log similar minutes in a post rotation with senior Shaiquel McGruder, but Bradbury has been impressed with Cumber’s maturity. She played in just half of UNM’s games as a freshman last season, averaging 3.7 points per game before undergoing season-ending knee surgery.
“She’s really locked into the game plan and keeps everyone else locked in,” Bradbury said. “I think her leadership is as helpful as her scoring.”
QUICK 1,000: Senior LaTascya Duff is the latest to join UNM’s 1,000-career-points club, having reached the milestone in Saturday’s 83-78 win over San Diego State. Duff, who joined the Lobos prior to the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, needed 78 games to score 1,000 points.
“We knew Tay was a high-level scorer when she came here,” Bradbury said, “so I’m not surprised. I’m happy for her.”
Duff became the 26th Lobo in the 1,000-points club but is not the quickest to get there. Dionne Marsh (2004-08), UNM’s career scoring leader with 1,913 points, reached 1,000 in 69 games, which at the time was second-fastest in Mountain West history.
