Ejim shines as Gonzaga outlasts Lobo women in the Pit

At the end of Sunday’s women’s basketball battle at the Pit, the UNM Lobos came up just a bit short.

UNM hung right with visiting Gonzaga and All-America candidate Yvonne Ejim until the final three minutes. From that point on, the Bulldogs stood taller in an 81-68 victory.

It would be fair to say Ejim was the biggest difference. The 6-foot-1 senior forward was largely unstoppable all day, racking up 26 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists and two blocks — all without being whistled for a single foul.

“She stole the show,” UNM coach Mike Bradbury said. “We’d seen her before and knew what she could do. She was clearly the best player on the floor today.”

The Lobos couldn’t stop Ejim, but they did enough to stay neck and neck with the Zags for three-plus quarters. Destinee Hooks racked up 24 points, including a fast-break layup that trimmed an 11-point Gonzaga lead to 68-62 with 3:31 remaining.

That’s when UNM simply came up short.

The Lobos’ hustling defense forced the Bulldogs into several difficult shots down the stretch, but couldn’t get a key rebound or a stop. Gonzaga’s Inés Bettencourt swished a pair of 3s to beat the shot-clock buzzer — one on a second-chance opportunity — and Esther Little applied the final dagger, banking in a late 3 with a minute left.

The taller Zags outrebounded UNM by 12 in the fourth quarter, 46-28 overall, and finished with a 14-2 advantage on second-chance points.

“We knew it was going to be hard to win the rebounding battle,” Bradbury said, “but we felt like if we could stay within 5 to 7 rebounds, we’d have a good chance to win. We were minus six after the third quarter and the game was still close. They rebounded everything in the fourth quarter and that was the game.”

Viané Cumber scored 16 points and had four steals for the Lobos, hitting a pair of 3-pointers late in the third quarter to keep UNM within striking distance. Cumber credited the Bulldogs and Ejim, but appreciated the fight UNM put up Sunday.

“Obviously, they have one of the best players in the country,” she said, “but that doesn’t take away from how our team played. Games like this show how tough you are and I thought we did a good job fighting. We know we can compete with anyone on our schedule, we just have to keep building.”

UNM spent much of the day fighting its way out of various holes. The Lobos began the game double-teaming Ejim on the catch, and she quickly made them pay with assists to wide-open teammates. She also buried an open 3-pointer to give the Zags a 15-6 lead.

The Lobos adjusted their defense and steadily worked their way back.

Hooks and Cumber combined for five straight points to even the score at 25 with 6:52 left in the second quarter.

Hooks gave the Bulldogs fits throughout the game, scoring on the drive and forcing the defense to collapse, leaving teammates open. The 5-9 sophomore said she enjoyed matching up against a high-caliber opponent like Gonzaga.

“It felt pretty good,” she said. “I think we did a good job passing to the open person, which just happened to be me today.”

UNM stayed close, trailing 38-34 at halftime and 57-53 after three quarters, but was unable to convert on several opportunities to take the lead. Gonzaga finally made the Lobos pay in the fourth quarter, hitting four of its 10 3-pointers down the stretch. UNM hit seven 3s but just one in the fourth quarter.

“I thought our offense was fine until the fourth quarter,” Bradbury said. “We got down eight or nine points and we got a little rushed. But rebounds were the big difference and it wasn’t just Ejim. Gonzaga’s guards do a great job rebounding and they grabbed some big ones when it mattered.”

The Lobos return to action Wednesday, hosting UC Irvine at 7 p.m.

BULLDOGS 81, LOBOS 68

GONZAGA (4-2): Huilbens 5-11 4-4 15, Ejim 11-18 3-4 26, O’Connor 3-8 2-2 10, Bettencourt 5-11 0-0 14, Turner 2-10 0-0 4, Dalan 1-2 4-4 6, Osarobo 0--0 0-0 0, Gunaydin 0-2 0-0 0, Hopkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 29-64 13-14 81.

NEW MEXICO (3-3): Joaquim 2-3 0-0 4, Hooks 10-22 3-4 24, Hargrove 2-6 0-0 5, Magalhães 1-3 0-0 2, Cumber 6-13 0-0 16, Langermann 3-6 0-0 7, Moreland 2-5 2-2 6, Mwamba 2-7 0-0 4, Po 0-1 0-0 0, Lauro 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-66 5-6 68.

Gonzaga 22 16 19 24 — 81

New Mexico 20 14 19 15 — 68

3-point FGs: G 10-29 (Huijbens 1-4, Ejim 1-2, O’Connor 2-6, Bettencourt 4-8, Turner 0-5, Little 2-2, Gunaydin 0-2); NM 7-23 (Hooks 1-3, Hargrove 1-1, Magalhães 0-1, Cumber 4-10, Langermann 1-4, Mwamba 0-4). Rebounds: G 46 (Huijbens 7, Ejim 17, O’Connor 6, Turner 5, Dalan 4, Little 5, Osarobo 1); NM 28 (Joaquim 6, Hooks 4, Hargrove 3, Magalhães 2, Cumber 2, Moreland 4, Mwamba 3). Assists: G 22 (Huijbens 5, Ejim 8, O’Connor 1, Bettencourt 4, Turner 2, Little 1, Gunaydin 1); NM 16 (Joaquim 1, Hooks 1, Hargrove 4, Magalhães 1, Cumber 2, Langermann 4, Mwamba 1, Po 2). Steals: G 3 (O’Connor 2, Dalan 1); NM 9 (Hooks 1, Hargrove 3, Cumber 4, Moreland 1). Blocks: G 6 (Huijbens 1, Ejim 2, Bettencourt 2, Turner 1); NM 3 (Joaquim 1, Hargrove 2). Turnovers: G 15, NM 9. Team fouls: G 8, NM 12. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.