Lobo women seek rare road victory at Boise State

Boise, Idaho has not been an idyllic winter destination for the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team.

The Lobos have struggled mightily at what is now called ExtraMile Arena, going 3-10 there against host Boise State with a number of painfully close defeats mixed in for good measure.

UNM gets another shot at the Broncos on Tuesday, and there’s reason to hope things can be different in 2025. The Lobos (13-8, 6-2 Mountain West) have been at their best on the road so far this conference season. They’re 4-0 in league away games — the only MWC team without a road loss.

Keeping the streak intact will not be easy, however. Boise State (14-7, 4-4) has been much better at home (10-1 overall, 3-1 MWC), with a narrow 61-57 loss to UNLV the Broncos’ only blemish.

Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said he’s less concerned about Tuesday’s venue than he is about UNM’s opponent. Boise State’s combination of height and accurate 3-point shooting presents a difficult challenge for the Lobos.

“They do a lot of things well,” Bradbury said. “They’re really good defensively and they’ll mix it up. On offense, they shoot the 3 well and they’re so big inside. They really make you defend everything.”

The Broncos — unlike the Lobos — also feel quite comfortable in ExtraMile Arena. They’ve held nine of 11 opponents under 60 points at home, with UNLV (61 points) and San Jose State (64) the only exceptions.

The Lobos, who feature the MWC’s second-highest scoring offense at 72.9 points per game, would much prefer to force Boise State into a faster-paced game. The key, Bradbury said, will be rebounding.

“We’ve got to rebound. That’s the No. 1 thing,” he said. “We want to try to get in transition and use our quickness when we can. For that to happen, we have to rebound. The times we have success against Boise State were when we did a good job on the boards.”

UNM did not have a good day on the boards in Saturday’s 77-64 home loss to Fresno State. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Lobos 38-30 overall and 12-2 in the fourth quarter, when the visitors used a 24-5 run to turn a seven-point deficit into a decisive win.

It was the second time this season UNM has been swamped at home in the fourth quarter. UNLV put a 17-0 run together late in its 88-73 win in the Pit on Jan. 12.

If there’s a common thread between those games, Bradbury believes it’s on the offensive end of the court.

“I attribute it mostly to bad offense,” he said. “We started settling for bad shots and missed when we didn’t have anyone in position to rebound. That lets the other team get out in transition, hit some open shots and get on a roll. We have to stick to our game plan, stay focused and run offense until we good shots.”

Bradbury said the Lobos returned to practice Sunday focused and ready to put Saturday’s ugly fourth quarter behind them. Whether or not they can bounce back in Boise, where they haven’t won since 2021, remains to be seen.

RARE MISS: UNM senior Viané Cumber had a rare cold day at the foul line Saturday, going 1-for-2. The miss was just her third this season, leaving Cumber 61-for-64 overall.

Cumber, who set a program record by hitting 55 straight at one point, now stands third nationally in free throw percentage — but she’s not trailing the leaders by much. St. Louis’ Peyton Kennedy is 68-for-71 (95.77%), followed by Siena’s Teresa Seppala (45-for-47, 95.74%) and Cumber (95.31%).