Lobos lose to Aztecs, second defeat in a row

Sometimes it's the simple things that decide a game's outcome.

Such was the case Wednesday in Southern California, where the San Diego State women's basketball team shot the lights out at Viejas Arena. Visiting New Mexico did not.

The Aztecs hit 14 3-pointers and shot over 50% from every distance, pulling away late for a 73-56 Mountain West win over the Lobos. UNM erased an 11-point deficit to tie the game at 47 late in the third quarter, but could not match or slow down SDSU's red-hot shooting down the stretch.

New Mexico (12-6, 4-3 Mountain West) did a solid job containing the Aztecs' two top scorers. Guards Naomi Panganiban and Nat Martinez scored eight points apiece on combined 6-of-15 shooting.

But other players more than picked up the slack for the Aztecs (13-3, 7-0), especially post Kennedy Lee, who had 15 points, nine rebounds and hit 5-of-8 from 3-point range to lead four SDSU players in double-figure scoring.

UNM got big games from Destinee Hooks (18 points) and Laila Abdurraqib (13), but did not get complementary scoring from anyone else. Starting guards Alyssa Hargrove, Joanna Magalhaes and Cacia Antonio combined for just eight points, and the Lobos significantly hurt their cause with 4-for-12 shooting from the free-throw line.

"I felt like we played pretty well through three quarters," UNM coach Mike Bradbury said. "San Diego State seemed to hit everything early in the fourth quarter and the game got away from us. It felt like a closer game than the final score indicates, but we have to get more people scoring and we have to do a better job finishing."

It was the second straight game in which UNM was badly outplayed in the fourth quarter. Nevada outscored the Lobos 22-8 in the fourth to take a 70-61 win on Saturday in the Pit. SDSU outscored UNM 23-9 over the final 10 minutes.

Wednesday's outcome was more a matter of ineffective offense than anything else. UNM outrebounded SDSU 35-28 and played the Aztecs even on points in the paint (20-20), but the Lobos finished with six fewer 3-pointers and six fewer field goals overall.

Too many UNM possessions came up empty as the result of turnovers (13) or missed free throws. SDSU had nine turnovers and a 14-5 advantage in points off turnovers.

"Our free throw shooting was terrible," Bradbury said, "and those (misses) really changed the game."

As with many recent UNM games, Wednesday's contest was streaky. Hooks, Abdurraqib and Nayli Padilla hit first-quarter 3-pointers and the Lobos grabbed a 16-11 lead.

The Aztecs, playing in front of a program-record crowd of 8,102 on Field Trip Day, came out sizzling in the second quarter while the Lobos' offense fizzled. SDSU opened with a 14-2 run — UNM was 1-for-7 shooting with four turnovers during that span — and took a 35-29 lead to halftime.

The hosts led 45-34 after an open Lee 3-pointer with 7:33 left in the third quarter, then it was the Lobos' turn. Hooks and Abdurraqib combined for eight points during a 13-2 UNM surge, with Drew Jordon's 3-pointer tying the score at 47 with 42 seconds left in the quarter.

But SDSU scored the next eight points, three of them coming on another open Lee 3-pointer, and the Lobos could not muster another comeback. UNM scored just three points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter as the Aztecs steadily pulled away for their ninth consecutive win.

Padilla finished with five points and six rebounds for the Lobos, who return home to face Grand Canyon on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.