Lobos lose to GCU, third defeat in a row

Even numbers continue to be a problem for the University of New Mexico women's basketball team.

Visiting Grand Canyon hit the Lobos with big scoring runs in the second and fourth quarters Saturday and rode away with a 75-62 victory at the Pit.

It was UNM's third straight loss and even-numbered quarters proved decisive in all three. Grand Canyon outscored the Lobos 27-17 in the second quarter and opened the fourth with an 11-2 run that put the game out of reach.

In its previous two games, New Mexico was outscored 44-25 in the second and fourth quarters by Nevada and clobbered 47-22 in even-numbered quarters by San Diego State.

Oddly, the Lobos came out ahead in the odd quarters of all three games, but not by enough. On Saturday, UNM struggled on offense and defense and simply could not keep pace with the more efficient 'Lopes.

"We couldn't keep their guards in front of us defensively and it caused major problems," Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said.

Four starters scored in double figures for GCU (6-12, 5-3 MWC), led by speedy guard Chloe Mann's 19 points. Post Julianna LaMendola also gave the Lobos fits, finishing with 14 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Grand Canyon shot 52% from the floor in the game.

Leaky as UNM's defense was, its offense was just as problematic. Destinee Hooks had a solid outing with 17 points, and Jessie Joaquim made the most of her first Lobos start with 12 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and three steals.

But New Mexico's other three starters combined for just 10 points on 5-of-20 shooting and committed nine turnovers. The Lobos simply could not score consistently enough to make up for Grand Canyon's two big scoring runs — an 11-0 burst in the second quarter and an 11-2 tear to open the fourth.

The Lobos (12-7, 4-4) have a week off to prepare for their next game, Saturday at Air Force, and Bradbury was quick to acknowledge his team needs it.

"Yeah, (the break) comes at a good time," he said. "Our offense right now is not good and we've got a lot to clean up. We started doing a better job late in the fourth quarter today, but by then it was too late."

Hooks and Joaquim expressed similar sentiments, but both pointed to UNM's defense as Saturday's biggest culprit.

"Our defense gets our offense going," Hooks said. "When that's not happening, we have too hard a time getting into a rhythm. We feel confident in our offense. We have players who can score and make plays. Our first job this week will be to get our defense back together and go from there."

Both teams looked better on defense than offense early Saturday. Norah Moo's late layup gave the 'Lopes a 14-13 lead, but there were 15 combined turnovers in the quarter — nine of them by GCU.

UNM led 25-23 after Joaquim scored inside on a Joana Magalhães assist, but that would be the Lobos' last lead. Mann and Anisa Jeffries scored on drives to spark GCU's 11-0 run, and the visitors led 41-30 by halftime.

New Mexico switched things up defensively in the third quarter, trapping and mixing in occasional zone looks to throw GCU's offense off balance. It worked for a stretch, and UNM used a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 47-43 with 2:13 left in the quarter.

But the 'Lopes adjusted, getting consecutive back-door layups in the final minute to regain a 54-45 advantage. An 11-2 run to open the fourth quarter effectively sealed the outcome.

Joaquim provided a bright spot for the Lobos, going 6-for-8 from the floor and finishing effectively on post passes from her teammates.

"It felt good being able to do my part," she said, "but as a team, we didn't get the job done. We gave up too many straight-line drives and (offensive) rebounds. We have to play better."

Nayli Padilla scored eight points, Laila Abdurraqib had seven and Kaia Foster scored six for UNM, which had a 23-20 edge I bench points. Grand Canyon's starters outscored their UNM counterparts 55-39.