Lobos defeat Wolf Pack, win 4th straight

The UNM women's basketball team didn't receive any outside help Saturday, but the Lobos did enough to help themselves.

Cacia Antonio racked up 18 points and nine rebounds to help UNM rally for a 63-56 road win over Nevada. Destinee Hooks chipped in 13 points and Joana Magalhães scored 11 as New Mexico earned its fourth straight win and kept its hopes alive for a first-round bye at the upcoming Mountain West tournament.

Colorado State, Boise State and UNLV all won Saturday and remained tied for second place in the MWC standings with 14-5 league records. UNM (21-9, 13-6) is a game back, with one to play, and hosts Fresno State on Tuesday night.

San Diego State (18-1) has already clinched first place and owns one of the four available first-round byes. UNM can grab one with a win Tuesday because Boise State visits UNLV that night and the loser would drop into a fourth-place tie with the Lobos. New Mexico would win a two-team tiebreaker with either the Broncos or Lady Rebels.

Seeding scenarios were not on the Lobos' minds Saturday, however, as they battled to avenge a 70-61 home loss to Nevada on Jan. 10. Payback did not come easily as the Wolf Pack led for most of the first half and trailed just 59-56 with possession of the ball in the game's final minute.

But Magalhães came up with a critical steal, Hooks and Alyssa Hargrove swished two free throws apiece in the final 31 seconds, and UNM capped its final regular-season road trip with a hard-earned win.

"In the second half, our players really competed," Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said. "I'm proud of them. In the first half, I thought we were a little out of sorts, nothing terrible, but we got beat to some 50-50 balls and didn't box out on some rebounds. I challenged them at halftime, they challenged themselves — and I felt like the whole team responded."

New Mexico won the battle on the boards 36-30 and limited Nevada to just four second-chance points. It was a major reversal from the teams' previous meeting, when the Wolf Pack out-rebounded UNM 42-30 and dominated the paint.

Emma Najjuma played a key role for the Lobos, contributing six points and nine rebounds (six offensive) off the bench. Antonio also played big, grabbing nine rebounds for a second straight game to go with her game-high 18 points.

"Cacia was incredible," Bradbury said. "She was good on the defensive end and great offensively. I thought Destinee had a really good game, too, and Emma was huge for us inside. Nevada's size and rebounding gave us trouble, but we did a better job battling them today, especially in the second half."

The Wolf Pack came out sizzling early, hitting 9-for-11 from the field in the first quarter and taking an 18-16 lead. Nevada used a 7-0 run to go up 34-29 late in the second quarter, but a long 3-pointer by Magalhães trimmed the deficit to 34-32 before halftime.

The teams traded baskets and the lead for most of the third quarter before back-to-back post shots by Nayli Padilla and Magalhães gave the Lobos a 47-44 edge with 2:08 left.

UNM stretched its lead to 57-49 on two Antonio free throws with 6:10 remaining in the fourth, but the junior then went to the bench after picking up her fourth foul. Nevada scored the next six points to get within two at 57-55.

Antonio returned to hit a key driving bank shot with 2:42 left, and the Lobos' defense took it from there. Nevada managed just one free throw over the final 4:10 as UNM secured the win.

Skylar Durley scored 16 points, and Ahrray Young had 10 to pace the Wolf Pack. 

Jessie Joaquim had four points, four rebounds and a block for UNM.