Century mark: Lobo women sprint past Utah State, 101-78

It’s fair to say the UNM women’s basketball team beat Utah State at its own game Tuesday night.

The visiting Lobos appeared more than happy to engage the pressing Aggies in an baseline-to-baseline track meet, and why not? Four players scored 15 points or more for New Mexico, which shot 58% from the field and rolled to a 101-78 victory at the Dee Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah.

Viané Cumber scored a game-high 25 points (22 in the second half) to match her career high, and Alyssa Hargrove put up a stellar overall game for the Lobos (13-7, 6-1 Mountain West). Joana Magalhães continued her run of strong conference games with 17 points, while Destinee Hooks chipped in 15 for UNM.

Hargrove essentially played quarterback as UNM aggressively attacked USU’s full-court pressure, and the senior seemed to make all the right plays. She finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, four steals and a block. The point and assist totals were season highs.

“Alyssa was really, really good tonight,” UNM coach Mike Bradbury said. “There’s no option but to play fast against (the Aggies), and our players were ready to run. Alyssa handled the ball a lot and she really set the tone for us.”

UNM once again led nearly all the way, improving to 4-0 on the road in conference play and winning for the eighth time in 10 games. Utah State (1-18, 0-7) stayed true to form, launching 42 3-pointers (making 13) and pressing full-court on nearly every dead ball.

“You know you’re going to give up some points,” Bradbury said. “(The Aggies) are going to shoot early, take a ton of 3s, and they’re going to make some. You just have to stick to your principles, follow the game plan and do the best you can on defense.”

Cheyenne Stubbs scored 24 points to pace USU, but the Aggies simply had no answer for UNM’s transition game. The Lobos outscored Utah State 48-20 in the paint and nearly matched the home team with 12 made 3s on 27 attempts.

“It’s a different brand of offense than we usually play,” Bradbury said, “and I thought we executed it pretty well. I know our players liked scoring 101 points.”

UNM’s previous high point total for the season came in an 85-56 win over Western New Mexico.

The Lobos trailed 7-5 early before putting together a 19-3 run to assume control. Hooks started it with seven consecutive points, and Cumber and Drew Jordon finished the surge with back-to-back 3-pointers. It was the first 3 of the season for Jordon on her first attempt, part of a six-point effort off the bench.

“Drew’s good in a fast-paced game like this and she gave us some good minutes,” Bradbury said. “It was good to see. We’re going to need her going forward.”

The Lobos led 26-16 after one quarter and 48-38 at halftime after trading runs with the Aggies. Cumber got off to a chilly start, going just 1-for-7 in the first half, but she found her rhythm in the third quarter. Cumber and Hargrove poured in 13 points apiece as UNM scored 30 points in the third and extended its lead to 78-61.

The margin was comfortable enough, as the Aggies never got closer than a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The only suspense in the closing minutes was whether the Lobos would reach 100 points, which they did on a Hulda Joaquim layup in the final minute.

Joaquim finished with eight points and 10 rebounds, while Amhyia Moreland had eight points and six boards for the Lobos. UNM extended its winning streak over Utah State to 18 games, while Bradbury improved to 15-0 against the Aggies.

UNM returns home to face Fresno State on Saturday at 2 p.m.

LOBOS 101, AGGIES 78

NEW MEXICO (13-7, 6-1 Mountain West):

Magalhães 6-8 4-4 17, Joaquim 3-6 2-2 8, Hooks 6-12 0-0 15, Cumber 8-18 4-4 25, Hargrove 8-9 2-2 20, Jordon 2-3 1-2 6, Moreland 3-4 2-4 8, Langermann 0-2 2-2 2, Lauro 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-62 17-20 101.

UTAH STATE (1-18, 0-7 Mountain West):

Livingston 4-12 2-2 14, Stubbs 7-17 7-8 24, Smith 1-4 0-0 2, Heaton 4-7 5-6 13, Sene 4-5 0-0 8, Latta 1-7 0-0 3, Banks 0-2 0-0 0, Johnson 1-3 0-0 3, Tanedo 0-0 0-0 0, Skelton 4-9 0-0 12, Ward 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-67 14-16 78.

New Mexico 26 22 30 23 — 101

Utah State 16 22 23 18 — 78

3-point FGs—UNM 12-27 (Magalhães 1-2, Hooks 3-5, Cumber 5-14, Hargrove 2-3, Jordon 1-1, Langermann 0-2); USU 13-42 (Livingston 4-10, Stubbs 3-9, Smith 0-3, Heaton 0-1, Latta 1-6, Banks 0-2, Johnson 1-2, Skelton 4-8, Ward 0-1). Rebounds—UNM 43 (Magalhães 6, Joaquim 10, Hooks 4, Cumber 4, Hargrove 8, Lauro 1, Jordon 1, Moreland 6, Langermann 1); USU 25 (Livingston 3, Stubbs 3, Smith 2, Heaton 4, Sene 4, Latta 2, Johnson 2). Assists—UNM 26 (Magalhães 4, Hooks 2, Joaquim 4, Cumber 6, Hargrove 9, Jordon 1); USU 15 (Livinston 1, Stubbs 4, Smith 3, Heaton 3, Latta 2, Johnson 1, Skelton 1). Steals—UNM 12 (Magalhães 4, Hooks 1, Joaquim 1, Hargrove 4, Moreland 2); USU 10 (Livingston 1, Smith 1, Heaton 2, Sene 3, Latta 2, Skelton 1). Blocks—UNM 2 (Magalhães 1, Hargrove 1); USU 2 (Heaton 1, Sene 1). Turnovers—UNM 19, USU 17. Team fouls—UNM 13, US 18. Fouled out—None. Technical fouls—None.