Super sub? Padilla playing a starring role for Lobo women

Nayli Padilla has taken her game to a higher level for the UNM women's basketball team this season — dramatically higher, in fact.

Through five games, the 5-foot-9 sophomore from Spain is averaging 12.6 points and leads the Mountain West with 13 3-pointers made and 48% accuracy from long range (based on a minimum of 2.5 attempts per game). She ranks second on the team in scoring, trailing only Destinee Hooks at 16 points per game.

It's a big step up from 2024-25 when Padilla averaged 3.7 points, made 14 3-pointers all season and hit 31% from beyond the arc. She also has tripled her games-started total after making exactly one start as a freshman. But that's where things get a bit unusual.

Padilla has come off the bench in UNM's two most recent games and is likely to do so again when the Lobos (4-1) host UT Martin on Thursday. Junior Cacia Antonio moved into the starting lineup after being ruled ineligible for UNM's first three games.

Since then, Padilla has led the Lobos in minutes played and points scored. Games started, she says, is not a statistic that matters.

"Honestly, it's just the same," Padilla said. "I don't care if I start, I just want to play and have fun. I care more about trying to win the game. I think starting or coming off the bench, it's the same."

Lobos coach Mike Bradbury appreciates Padilla's team-first attitude and agrees that it makes little difference when she or any other member of this year's deep team enters the game.

"It's irrelevant," he said. "Nayli's playing well enough to lead us in minutes the last two games, that's what matters. She was here all summer, got acclimated and understands our system better now. She's got more of a comfort level and it shows."

Padilla, who didn't arrive in Albuquerque until last fall, admits the transition was challenging. She largely shied away from interviews last season, but her command of English, like her game, has evolved.

"I think the difference is confidence in myself," Padilla said. "Last year I was new here, didn't know too much of the language, didn't know the environment. But I think last year was a good year me to grow and I've been working very hard. I'm really happy right now with how things are going."

Padilla anticipated getting more 3-point looks this season with long-range sniper Viané Cumber having graduated. She put in extra time during the offseason working on consistency.

"I've been trying to take the same shot all the time, getting my footwork better," she said. "I try to make it the same shot even in hard situations when I need to shoot fast. I've been working on that and having confidence, too. My shot didn't really change, though. It's the same. It's me."

The next step, she says, is making opponents pay for crowding her at the 3-point line.

"People know I'm going to shoot now," Padilla said, "so I have to let them see that I'm not always going to shoot. Sometimes I need to use my drive."

Will Padilla's success push her back into the starting lineup at some point? Or will she continue to be a super sub and perhaps take a shot at Mountain West Sixth Player of the Year?

Either is possible, Bradbury said, adding that UNM's current starting lineup is not set in stone.

"We've been going 11, 12 (players) deep every game," he said. "Everyone knows they're going to play around 20 minutes and they show up ready. Who starts and who gets more minutes could change depending on who we're playing, but we've got more flexibility than we've had in a long time."

Padilla is averaging a team-high 29.8 minutes per game and is the only Lobo ranked among the Mountain West's top 20 in playing time. But like Bradbury, she believes the Lobos' depth and lineup flexibility will end up paying dividends.

"I think we're more connected this year," she said. "I think we understand each other better and everyone wants to do what is better for the team. We have good chemistry and everyone is involved. It's exciting."