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UNM women's hoops: Lobos beat Cougars in Florida Gulf Classic opener
UNM’s Cacia Antonio, left, drives past New Orleans’ Mariah Hart in a college basketball game, Nov. 11, at the Pit.
The Lobos women's basketball team spent Thanksgiving in Florida, getting ready for tournament play, and the preparation paid off with an 80-53 blowout victory for UNM over Chicago State at the Florida Gulf Classic in Naples, Florida.
Though the Lobos led for all but 59 seconds of game time, the Cougars did come out of the gates hot, despite the 9 a.m. (MST) start.
It took UNM time to shake off the sleep and, as a result, Chicago State kept the game close. The Lobos held only a two-point lead — 14-12 — with 3 minutes left in the first quarter.
"It kind of felt like we rolled out of bed for a basketball game," Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said of the early morning tipoff. "In the first quarter, we played like it. Then we kind of woke up, things started clicking and everything was fine."
In the second quarter, the Lobos were the ones with the hot start, going on a 28-0 run and effectively taking over the game.
According to a UNM news release, the 24-0 run between the first and second quarters is the longest run for the Lobos this season. UNM also had 16-0 runs against New Mexico State and UT Martin this season.
UNM's Cacia Antonio finished with a game-high 17 points that included 4-5 shooting from behind the arc. Drew Jordon (scoring a season-best 16 points), Destinee Hooks (with 14 points) and Nayli Padilla (11) all scored double-digits as well.
Defensively, the Lobos generated a season-high 19 steals. Padilla led the way with four, a career-high, and Antonio tallied three.
"We wanted to get minutes for everyone and fortunately we were able to do that. No one played too many, which helps when you've got a tough opponent (Saturday)," said Bradbury.
UNM will face Cincinnati at Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MST. The Bearcats beat Alabama A&M 72-49 on Friday.
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— Ken Sickenger contributed to this story
