Defense propels Lobos past Utah State

Saturday's shooting performance was not exactly suitable for the UNM women's basketball team's time capsule.

The Lobos' defense, however, was memorable.

Despite a chilly shooting day that included a glacial third quarter, UNM rolled to a comfortable 58-33 win over Utah State at the Pit. The Lobos' third straight victory pulled them even in the loss column with fourth place Colorado State in the Mountain West standings as the Rams lost at UNLV on Saturday.

Cacia Antonio and Nayli Padilla led New Mexico with 12 and 10 points, respectively, but offense was not the top story in this one.

Utah State was limited single-digit points in three of four quarters, went 1-for-19 from 3-point range and shot 28.3% overall for the game. The 33 points allowed were a season low for the Lobos and the fewest since a 63-33 win at Air Force in 2016.

"Defensively, we were pretty good," UNM coach Mike Bradbury said. "Offensively, give (Utah State) credit for taking some things away from us — and we missed a lot of shots. The good news was, we stayed in the right mindset defensively and kept working when we weren't hitting shots."

The Lobos (15-7, 7-4 MWC) led nearly all the way and were never seriously threatened after grabbing a 19-7 first-quarter lead over the Aggies (6-15, 2-10). But UNM shot just 34.4% from the field and went 6-for-27 from 3-point range, allowing USU to stay somewhat close until the fourth quarter.

"The offense definitely struggled at times," said UNM's Destinee Hooks, who scored nine points on 3-for-12 shooting. "But if we just stay focused and work on defense, the offense will eventually come. In the fourth quarter, we got it going and did what we had to do."

In addition to their stout defense, the Lobos dominated the boards and outrebounded USU 48-30. Jessie Joaquim (four points, 12 rebounds) and Emma Najjuma (six points, nine rebounds) led the way, limiting the Aggies to just two second-chance points.

"Jessie and Emma did a tremendous job on the boards," Bradbury said.

UNM's offense started well enough to suit a Retro Day crowd of 5,203. Antonio and Laila Abdurraqib hit first-quarter 3-pointers and the Lobos quickly opened a double-digit lead. Antonio and Padilla combined for 12 points in the second quarter as the home team took a 36-18 advantage to halftime.

It was a welcome sight for the Lobos, as Antonio and Padilla have struggled to find their shooting strokes of late. Antonio broke a streak of five straight games with single-digit points, while Padilla had her highest scoring output since a Dec. 31 win over Wyoming.

"I feel like I'm not at my best right now but I know I can make shots." Padilla said. "My teammates are always giving me confidence and telling me, 'Shoot, shoot.' I'm just working to get all my confidence back. Today felt good."

As a group, the Lobos were far from their best in Saturday's third quarter. They went 2-for-15 from the field and managed only a pair of Najjuma layups to go with four turnovers.

But Utah State was unable to capitalize, scoring only nine points in the quarter and trailing 40-27 when the fourth quarter began. Hooks then scored seven points to spark a 15-2 UNM run that put the game out of reach.

The Lobos head north for a pair of Mountain West games in the coming week, visiting Wyoming on Wednesday and Boise State on Saturday.