UNM rocks so-called 'Dome of Doom' in win at Wyoming

Wyoming's "Dome of Doom" is starting to feel more like a happy place to the UNM women's basketball team.

Nayli Padilla scored 13 points and landed a late 3-point dagger to help the Lobos earn a 58-51 road win over Wyoming on Wednesday night in Laramie. Bolstered by 29 points from its bench, UNM (16-7, 8-4 in the Mountain West) won its fourth straight and moved into a fourth-place tie with idle Colorado State in the Mountain West standings.

Laila Abdurraqib chipped in 12 points and Destinee Hooks scored 11 for the Lobos, who completed a season sweep of Wyoming (8-14, 5-8) and won for the fifth time in its last seven trips to the Arena-Auditorium — affectionately known as the Dome of Doom.

"I think this place is fine," UNM coach Mike Bradbury said after the game. "We did remind our players that we've had some success here so they wouldn't start thinking about any of that (Dome of Doom) nonsense. I thought we were pretty focused, especially on defense, and got the job done."

New Mexico's defense was especially solid in the second and third quarters, when the Cowgirls managed just eight field goals and were outscored 36-22 combined. The Lobos led by as many as 17 points in the second half before Wyoming poured in four late 3-pointers to make the final margin closer.

Malene Pedersen, the Mountain West's leading scorer, finished with a game-high 17 points but had to work for most of them. Pedersen was 6-for-14 from the field.

"They got away from us a few times in the fourth quarter," Bradbury said of the Cowgirls, "but most of those 3-pointers were contested and one was banked in, so ... Overall, I thought we played well defensively for the whole game. Offensively we were streaky, but we hit some big shots when we needed them."

Neither team hit much in the first quarter, which ended with Wyoming holding an 11-10 lead. Hooks got hot in the second, draining a 3-pointer and converting a three-point play on back-to-back possessions to spark a 13-2 run that gave UNM a 25-16 advantage.

The margin was 29-19 at halftime before Pedersen began to find some openings in UNM's defense. She scored six points during an 8-2 surge that drew the Cowgirls within four points at 31-27 midway through the third quarter.

Then it was the Lobos' turn. Padilla hit consecutive 3's and Abdurraqib collected five points during a 13-0 run that gave UNM its largest lead at 46-29 with 1:51 left in the third quarter.

The teams largely traded baskets in the fourth, but Wyoming hit enough 3-pointers to creep back into striking range at 55-47 with 2:44 left. Padilla effectively turned the lights out with an answering 3 late in the shot clock that gave the Lobos an 11-point cushion with 1:18 left.

"That was definitely the dagger," Bradbury said. "This was a game that set up for Nayli and Laila. They had some openings and we needed them to hit shots, which they did."

Cacia Antonio finished with nine points for UNM, while Emma Najjuma chipped in with four points and eight rebounds off the bench. The Lobos outrebounded Wyoming 34-28.

New Mexico will stay on the road to play a key MWC game against third-place Boise State (18-5, 9-3) on Saturday. The top of the conference standings got tighter Wednesday when Grand Canyon handed first-place San Diego State a 57-44 loss — the Aztecs' first Mountain West loss this season.