UNM WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Lobos roll to 20th win of season, topping Utah State
Coach Bradbury honored by team after getting 200th win with Lobos
It was business as usual for the UNM women's basketball team Wednesday — that business being a comfortable 69-54 road win over Utah State.
The Lobos won their third straight game and improved to 20-9 overall, 12-6 in Mountain West play.
The result was hardly unexpected. Utah State (6-21, 2-16) has dropped 15 consecutive games this season and 19 straight to the Lobos dating back to 2016.
But that didn't mean there wasn't cause to celebrate. Coach Mike Bradbury earned his 200th win in 10 seasons at UNM and was doused with water by his players in a happy postgame locker room.
"It wasn't just water," Bradbury said with a chuckle, "I got the whole treatment. It was a nice feeling, though, and I definitely appreciated it."
New Mexico remained in fifth place in the Mountain West and did not gain ground on fourth-place Colorado State on Wednesday. But thanks to the Rams' 77-61 win over UNLV and San Diego State's 66-64 victory at Boise State, the Lobos ended the night just one game behind CSU, UNLV and Boise State, who are tied for second place with 13-5 conference records.
UNM will catch at least one of those teams if it can win its last two games because Boise State visits UNLV on the final day of the regular season. The top four finishers earn first-round byes at the upcoming Mountain West tournament.
"It's coming down to the wire," Bradbury said, "but we have two tough games left and that's where our focus needs to be."
Joana Magalhães scored 14 points, Nayli Padilla added 12 and Jessie Joaquim posted her second straight double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) to pace the Lobos.
The visitors shook off a sluggish first quarter and dominated on the boards and from 3-point range. UNM outrebounded USU 48-28 and went 12-for-24 from long range, while the Aggies went 4-for-22.
"I thought rebounding was the big thing," Bradbury said. "That was one area where we had an advantage over Utah State and we made the most of it."
Led by Joaquim and Alyssa Hargrove (8 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists), UNM racked up a 16-0 advantage in second-chance points.
Plenty of rebounds were available in the first quarter as neither team was able to hit much of anything. The score was 10-10 after 10 minutes with the Lobos and Aggies combining to go 7-for-32 from the field.
New Mexico began to find the range in the second quarter as Hargrove swished a pair of 3-pointers and Hooks chipped in five points. The Lobos took a 32-23 lead to halftime and extended it to 50-33 on a Magalhães 3 late in the third quarter.
Magalhães and Padilla teamed up to hit seven 3-pointers and scored 23 of their 26 points in the second half.
Aaliyah Gayles scored 15 points and Elise Livingston had 14 for the Aggies, who scored the final six points of the game but were unable to make any sustained runs until then.
The Lobos will remain on the road and visit Nevada on Saturday at 1 p.m. before returning home to host Fresno State on Tuesday.
