Lobos fend off Cowgirls after slow start at the Pit

The UNM women's basketball team's offense was sputtering like an old lawnmower for much of Wednesday's game at the Pit.

When it counted, the Lobos' defense purred like a kitten.

UNM cranked up its defensive pressure in the fourth quarter and took control of what had been a back-and-forth game, pulling away for a 62-48 victory over Wyoming in front of 4,844 appreciative fans.

The Lobos trailed 41-37 late in the third quarter but outscored the Cowgirls 25-7 the rest of the way to earn the Mountain West victory. Cacia Antonio led UNM (10-4, 2-1) with 14 points, while Nayli Padilla and Laila Abdurraqib scored 11 apiece, but defense and rebounding proved decisive in this one.

New Mexico shot a chilly 28.5% over the first three quarters before hitting 8-of-12 (67%) from the field in the fourth, including a pair of key 3-pointers. The offensive surge came after UNM began pressing full court on dead balls, energizing the Lobos and their fans.

"Absolutely," UNM coach Mike Bradbury said. "We needed to rebound and apply some extra pressure and I thought we did that. Offensively, we could've been better, but in the fourth quarter I thought we really executed and started finishing around the basket. We missed a lot of those shots today. In the fourth quarter, we made them."

Wyoming (4-8, 1-2) gave the Lobos all they wanted for three quarters, getting 22 points from Mountain West scoring leader Malene Pedersen and playing disruptive half-court defense.

But UNM clamped down on Pedersen in the fourth quarter, holding her scoreless as the momentum steadily turned the Lobos' way.

"We tried to stop (Pedersen)," Padilla said. "That was the biggest part of our game plan on defense. She scored some points on us, but in the fourth quarter we pulled together and tried to lock in on defense. I think that's what finally got our offense going."

It was a game of extended runs by both teams. UNM scored the first 10 points only to have the Cowgirls answer with a 13-0 run (10 of the points coming from Pedersen) that gave them a 16-12 lead early in the second quarter.

Abdurraqib turned the tide back to the Lobos with nine points (two 3-pointers and three free throws) as the home team took a 28-21 lead to halftime.

Wyoming battled back with an 11-0 run late in the third quarter — one that included a four-point play from Pedersen, who was fouled by UNM's Destinee Hooks while draining one of her four 3-pointers. The Cowgirls led 41-37 with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Lobos got a needed spark in the closing seconds. Antonio hit two free throws with 11 seconds left, and Drew Jordon followed with a steal and assist to Padilla for a tying layup.

"I'm glad I made that one," Padilla said with a smile.

Bradbury agreed.

"We had some momentum to end the third quarter and we got off to a good start in the fourth," he said. "That was big."

Padilla found Najjuma under the basket for a layup and later swished a pair of 3-pointers as the Lobos assumed control. Antonio chipped in a rainbow 3-pointer and knocked down a pull-up jumper to fuel the rally, which came with leading scorer Hooks on the bench with four fouls.

Najjuma played a key role for UNM with eight points and 15 rebounds. The Lobos finished with a 42-28 advantage on the boards and improved to 9-0 when outrebounding their opponent.

"We knew we had to outrebound them as a team," Najjuma said. "That's very important for us. I just try to get as many as I can to help my team."

The Lobos finished 10-for-10 from the foul line and outscored Wyoming 28-12 in the paint and 17-3 on second-chance points.

UNM travels to San Jose State on Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest.