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UNM WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Lobos wake up from sleepy start, romp Spartans
UNM missed its first 10 shots from beyond the arc, but the defense didn't miss a beat
Maybe it was a time-zone issue.
The UNM women's basketball team was a late arrival on the offensive end Saturday at San Jose State, missing its first 10 3-point shots and starting the game 7-for-23 from the field.
Fortunately for the visitors, hitting the offensive snooze button one too many times hardly mattered.
The Lobos' ever-so-punctual defense took charge from the opening tip, setting the tone for an 89-51 Mountain West romp of San Jose State at Provident Credit Union Event Center on Saturday.
UNM's smothering defense limited the Spartans to 12 first-half points — four in the first quarter — and the Lobos led wire to wire, improving to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in MWC play. The struggling Spartans (2-13, 0-4) had no answers for New Mexico's defensive pressure, finishing with more turnovers (22) than made field goals (17).
Cacia Antonio and Kaia Foster scored 15 points apiece to lead the Lobos, who got points from all 11 players in uniform. Destinee Hooks and Alyssa Hargrove added 11 points apiece, while Laila Abdurraqib chipped in with 10.
"Defensively, we were really good and played with a lot of energy," UNM coach Mike Bradbury said. "I was proud of our mindset and approach to the game. We got off to a sluggish start on offense, but our defense was good enough to carry us until the offense woke up."
No one played more than 25 minutes for UNM, which visits Mountain West co-leader Colorado State on Wednesday. The Lobos got impressive performances from their bench Saturday, particularly from Foster and Jessie Joaquim, who made the most of their minutes.
Foster, who has seen limited action since suffering a broken finger in November, racked up a career-high 15 points and seven rebounds in just 8 minutes, hitting 3-of-3 from 3-point range and 6-for-6 from the foul line.
"Kaia was having a lot of fun out there," Bradbury said.
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Joaquim did most of her work in the paint, collecting five points and 16 rebounds in 20 minutes. Nine of Joaquim's boards came on the offensive end, helping the Lobos rack up a 25-4 advantage in second-chance points. UNM outrebounded the Spartans 58-32 overall and racked up 43 bench points to SJSU's 4.
It did take the visitors a while to open things up. Neither team could hit much of anything in the first quarter, which ended with UNM leading 13-4.
The margin was 18-7 when Hargrove finally broke the seal from 3-point range midway through the second quarter. To that point, the teams were a combined 0-for-21 from beyond the arc.
Hargrove's shot seemed to awaken the Lobos, who finished the half on a 16-3 run and took a commanding 37-12 lead to intermission.
New Mexico boosted its lead to 30 at 54-24 on a Nayli Padilla 3-pointer with 2:17 left in the third quarter, and Bradbury substituted liberally the rest of the way.
Amira Brown scored 16 points to lead the Spartans, while Drew Jordon and Padilla scored nine and eight, respectively, for UNM. Antonio scored in double figures for the fourth straight game and finished with seven rebounds and three assists.
"Cacia played really well and our bench did a great job," Bradbury said. "We were able to give minutes to players who needed some and they took advantage of the opportunity. That's always a good thing to see."
