Ice cold in Laramie: Offense vanishes as UNM women fall to Wyoming

The Wyoming Cowgirls did not exactly light things up at the Arena Auditorium in Laramie on Wednesday night — nor was it necessary.

Visiting New Mexico was colder than a Wyoming winter, scoring one point during a 12-minute stretch in the second half and ending up on the ugly end of a 59-40 blowout.

It was a season-low point total for the Lobos, who finished with more turnovers (16) than field goals (15) and had their three-game winning streak emphatically stopped. Amhyia Moreland led UNM with 12 points off the bench, but the Lobo starters were dismal on the offensive end.

Viané Cumber scored eight points on 3-for-15 shooting, while her fellow starters combined for 10 points and 11 turnovers. Wyoming’s starters were a chilly 16-for-46 from the field, but the Cowgirls had just six turnovers and attempted 13 more shots — more than good enough.

UNM coach Mike Bradbury was at a loss to explain his team’s dreadful performance on the offensive end.

“We were bad offensively,” he said in a postgame interview. “Our pace of play in the half-court was bad and we didn’t even run the things we talked about for this game. We called three timeouts to address it and still kept getting it wrong. I really don’t have an explanation for what just happened.”

Despite its offensive woes, UNM (16-13, 9-7 Mountain West) was still in the hunt midway through the third quarter. Nayli Padilla’s 3-pointer trimmed what had been a 13-point deficit to 40-32 with 4:58 left in the quarter.

The Lobos had numerous chances to get even closer, but Moreland missed a pair of free throws and Cumber had a 3-pointer rattle out that would have made it a five-point game.

Instead, UNM’s offense tanked as the Cowgirls (18-10, 12-4) finally began to pull away. UNM did not score again in the third quarter and managed just one Joana Magalhães free throw in the first seven minutes of the fourth.

Bradbury emptied his bench with 3:40 left and freshman guard Reza Po finally ended the 12-minute field goal drought with a driving layup with 2:43 left. Drew Jordon, who played only the final 2:43, outscored three of UNM’s starters with four points.

Bright spots were few. UNM’s defense did an effective job on star Wyoming post Allyson Fertig, who scored 15 points but went 7-of-17 from the floor. Moreland was the lone positive for the Lobos’ offense, tying her season-high with 12 points. It should have been more, Bradbury said.

“Amhyia was really good,” he said, “and at one point we called plays for her on five possessions in a row. We never got her the ball on any of them.”

UNM was outscored 38-20 in the paint and was unable to get nearly as many transition opportunities as it did during a 73-67 win over Wyoming in Albuquerque on Jan. 8. The Lobos had just seven turnovers that night, but were unable to take care of the ball in Wednesday’s rematch.

New Mexico will look for a quick bounce-back Saturday when if visits Fresno State for a 2 p.m. contest. The Lobos were scheduled to travel directly to Northern California on Thursday.

COWGIRLS 59, LOBOS 40

NEW MEXICO (16-13, 9-7 Mountain West): Hooks 1-6 1-2 3, Hargrove 1-3 1-2 4, Magalhães 0-4 1-2 1, Joaquim 1-5 0-0 2, Cumber 3-15 0-0 8, Langermann 0-0 1-2 1, Lauro 0-0 0-0 0, Padilla 1-3 0-0 3, Jordon 1-1 2-2 4, Po 1-2 0-0 2, Moreland 6-8 0-3 12, Hakkarainen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-47 6-13 40.

WYOMING (18-10, 12-4 Mountain West): Mellema 1-4 1-2 3, Barnes 3-7 0-0 8, Pedersen 4-12 2-2 11, Ustowska 1-6 0-0 3, Fertig 7-17 1-6 15, Alvar 2-2 0-0 4, Beslic 0-0 0-0 0, Symons 1-1- 0-0 3, Lundin 0-1 0-0 0, Ollilainen 1-3 0-0 2, Hamlin 0-0 0-0 0, Dickerson 4-7 2-5 10. Totals: 24-60 6-15 59.

New Mexico 11 12 9 8 — 40

Wyoming 17 14 18 10 — 59

3-point FGs: NM 4-23 (Hooks 0-3, Hargrove 1-2, Magalhães 0-2, Joaquim 0-1, Cumber 2-11, Padilla 1-3, Po 0-1); W 5-17 (Mellema 0-1, Barnes 2-4, Pederson 1-4, Ustowska 1-5, Fertig 0-1, Symons 1-1, Dickerson 0-1). Rebounds: NM 36 (Hooks 1, Hargrove 8, Magalhães 9, Joaquim 3, Cumber 1, Lauro 1, Padilla 4, Moreland 5, Hakkarainen 1); W 41 (Mellema 6, Barnes 6, Pedersen 6, Ustowska 1, Fertig 9, Alvar 2, Symons 1, Ollilainen 3, Dickerson 3). Assists: NM 10 (Hargrove 3, Magalhães 3, Padilla 4); W 14 (Mellema 2, Barnes 4, Pedersen 1, Ustowska 1, Fertig 2, Symons 1, Ollilainen 1, Dickerson 2). Steals: NM 4 (Hargrove 1, Magalhães 1, Joaquim 1, Padilla 1); W 7 (Mellema 2, Barnes 1, Pedersen 1, Ustowska 1, Fertig 2). Blocks: NM 6 (Hargrove 1, Magalhães 1, Joaquim 1, Padilla 1); W 3 (Barnes 2, Dickerson 1). Turnovers: NM 16, W 6. Team fouls: NM 15, W 16. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.