Lobos' streak ends with loss to Lady Rebels

The UNLV Lady Rebels beat the odds Saturday in Las Vegas and beat up the visiting UNM women's basketball team in the process.

UNLV, which came into the game ranked seventh in the Mountain West in 3-point percentage (30%), sizzled from long range Saturday, going 16-for-28 and rolling to an 89-71 victory at Cox Pavilion. Destiny Leo, a 26% 3-point shooter coming in, went 6-for-8 and scored 20 points to pace the four-time defending MWC champion Rebels.

Cacia Antonio scored a season-high 22 points for the wounded Lobos (9-4, 1-1), who had a three-game winning streak snapped and never recovered from a dreadful first quarter. The Rebels rocked UNM with a 17-0 run and took a 31-13 lead into the second quarter before the teams played even (58-58) for the rest of the game.

"We ran into kind of a perfect storm in the first quarter," Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said. "We lost a couple of their shooters defensively, didn't move the ball well offensively and UNLV made us pay. We played them even the rest of the way and outscored them in the second half, but that first quarter devastated us."

As for that first quarter, UNLV set the tone with Leo hitting her first three 3-pointers. Mariah Elohim and Trystan James also cashed in from beyond the arc, while UNM was 1-for-6 on first-quarter 3's.

But UNM had other issues to contend with early in the game. Three players were fighting illness, including leading scorer Destinee Hooks, and starting guard Joana Magalhaes played just four minutes before leaving with a quad injury suffered at practice. Senior Clarissa Craig missed a third straight game with knee soreness.

Nayli Padilla and Laila Abdurraqib started in place of usual starters Hooks and Alyssa Hargrove, which Bradbury called a "coaching decision," but Hooks and Hargrove came off the bench with UNLV leading just 11-10 with 5:41 left in the first quarter.

That's when the Rebels took charge. Shelbee Brown scored twice inside to spark a 7-0 run extended by a back-to-back UNM turnovers. It was 22-10 when Hargrove was flattened by an apparent moving screen near midcourt, and Bradbury picked up a technical foul for arguing. The Lobos soon earned another technical for not checking in properly on a substitution.

UNLV went 8-for-8 from the foul line during the quarter and James' buzzer-beating 3 increased the home team's lead to 31-13.

"We got frustrated with some of the calls," Bradbury said, "and it cost us. At one point (the Rebels) scored eight straight points and we didn't even have the ball."

The Lobos seemed to shake off most of their issues after the first quarter, scoring effectively and holding their own inside against the Rebels. UNM finished with a 34-28 advantage on points in the paint but was undone by UNLV's remarkable perimeter shooting.

Meadow Roland, who came into the game 5-for-29 (17%) from 3-point range, went 3-for-5 Saturday and scored 18 points. Brown was the lone Rebel who did significant damage inside, collecting 18 points and 14 rebounds without attempting a 3-pointer.

"We knew (Leo) was a good shooter and we did a poor job defending her," Bradbury said. "But give UNLV credit, they seemed to hit everything."

It was that kind of day for the Lobos, who had a 75-foot shot by Antonio at the end of the third quarter, but left her hands just after the buzzer. Hooks finished with 13 points but on 3-for-11 shooting, while Padilla ended up with 10 points.

The Lobos will break for the Christmas holiday and return for a Dec. 31 home game against Wyoming.

"No excuses for this one," Bradbury said. "UNLV shot the lights out and took it to us. I think the break comes at a good time for us, though. Hopefully we can come back healthy and get back on the right track."

UNLV 89, NEW MEXICO 71

NEW MEXICO (9-4, 1-1 Mountain West): Antonio 9-15 3-3 22, Padilla 3-7 2-2 10, Magalhaes 0-2 0-0 0, Najjuma 2-2 1-2, Abdurraqib 2-6 0-0 5, Hooks 3-11 6-6 13, Hargrove 2-5 0-0 4, Foster 1-2 0-0 3, Peixinho 0-0 0-2 0, Jordon 2-4 0-0 5, Jones 0-2 0-2 0, Joaquim 2-3 0-1 4. Totals: 26-59 12-18 71.

UNLV (7-5, 2-0): S Brown 8-10 0-0 16, Leo 6-8 2-2 20, Lott 2-10 0-0 4, Alexander 4-7 4-4 13, Roland 5-10 5-5 18, Colvin 1-1 0-0 3, Summers 0-0 0-0 0, Elohim 2-7 2-2 8, D Brown 0-0 0-2 0, Kabada 0-1 0-0 0, Afu 0-0 0-0 0, James 2-4 0-0 4. Totals: 30-58 13-15 89.

New Mexico 13 19 21 18 — 71

UNLV 31 23 20 15 — 89

3-pt FGs: NM 7-22 (Antonio 1-4, Padilla 2-4, Abdurraqib 1-4, Hooks 1-4, Hargrove 0-2, Foster 1-2, Jordon 1-1, Jones 0-1); UNLV 16-28 (Leo 6-8, Lott 1-4, Alexander 1-1, Roland 3-5, Colvin 1-1, Elohim 2-6, James 2-3). Rebounds: NM 29 (Antonio 3, Padilla 3, Najjuma 7, Abdurraqib 3, Hooks 2, Hargrove 1, Foster 1, Peixinho 1, Jones 1, Joaquim 3); UNLV 37 (S Brown 14, Lott 3, Alexander 1, Roland 7, Elohim 1, D Brown 1, James 3). Assists: NM 10 (Antonio 3, Padilla 1, Najjuma 1, Abdurraqib 1, Hargrove 1, Jones 2, Joaquim 1); UNLV 23 (S Brown 3, Leo 1, Lott 3, Alexander 5, Roland 5, Colvin 3, Elohim 3). Steals: NM 6 (Antonio 2, Padilla 2, Jordon 1, Joaquim 1); UNLV 2 (S Brown 2). Blocks: NM 3 (Najjuma 1, Joaquim 1, Hargrove 1); UNLV 0. Turnovers: NM 10, UNLV 12. Team fouls: NM 17, UNLV 20. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: NM 2 (bench).