Lobos break Broncos, win Mountain West Conference opener

Things were looking pretty dire for the UNM women's basketball team early in the fourth quarter Wednesday night.

Visiting Boise State had opened a six-point lead in the Mountain West opener for both teams and New Mexico's leading scorer, Destinee Hooks, had just picked up her fourth foul and headed to the bench.

To make matters worse, the Lobos' 3-point shooting deserted them in this one. UNM was an icy 2-for-19 and didn't hit a 3-pointer over the final three quarters.

None of it mattered.

UNM cranked up its defensive pressure over the final seven minutes and turned the game on its head. The Lobos outscored the Broncos 21-8 down the stretch and came away with a crowd-pleasing 70-63 victory in front of 4,316 fans.

Joana Magalhaes led another balanced UNM effort with 16 points and three steals, while Alyssa Hargrove chipped in 12 points, five assists and two steals. Hooks and Cacia Antonio added 11 points apiece as the Lobos improved to 9-3 and started MWC play with a significant win.

"Really good fourth quarter," UNM coach Mike Bradbury said. "A big part of it was the crowd because when we got a little run going, they really got loud. Our players fed off that."

Hargrove agreed.

"It's fun having a crowd like that," she said. "When we're pressuring on defense and the fans get into it, that makes us want to turn up the pressure even more."

Defense was key for the Lobos, who had all sorts of problems slowing down the Broncos (9-3, 0-1) in the second and third quarters. But Boise State made just two if its final 13 shots Wednesday and turned the ball over four times during UNM's closing run.

"Well, they scored 44 points on us in the second and third quarters," Bradbury said, "and we can't win like that. But when things didn't look too good, everyone stayed together and stayed positive. Our defensive pressure got better, we turned them over and got some stops. We didn't let anything bother us."

Libby Hutton had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Broncos, who had things their way in the middle of a game that included 10 lead changes. UNM had the better of things early and late.

New Mexico raced to a 14-0 lead and kept high-scoring Boise State off the board for more than eight minutes. A late 3-pointer by Laila Abdurraqib gave UNM a 17-4 lead after one quarter.

The Broncos found their shooting stroke in the second quarter, however, reeling off 11 straight points at one juncture and later grabbing a 24-23 lead. Steals and layups by Magalhaes and Hargrove helped the Lobos regain a 30-27 edge by halftime.

"Defense definitely helped us get going tonight," said Magalhaes. "Everyone just kept believing and staying together."

The teams traded runs throughout the third quarter, with Hooks scoring seven points to keep the game close. But Boise State scored seven straight points to grab a 53-47 lead early in the fourth quarter, forcing Bradbury to call a timeout.

"It wasn't anything magical," he said of his timeout message. "We really just had to get back to playing the way we're supposed to play, getting defensive stops, attacking the basket and getting good shots."

Hargrove came up with a basket, a steal and an assist to Nayli Padilla to fuel a 12-0 run shortly after the timeout. Padilla added a steal and an assist, and Antonio got the crowd roaring with a coast-to-coast drive that gave the Lobos a 61-55 lead with 4:22 left.

The Broncos never fully recovered as the Lobos pulled away for their third straight win.

UNM faces another conference contender Saturday, visiting UNLV for a 2 p.m. contest. The Rebels defeated Grand Canyon 61-60 in another league opener Wednesday night.