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Shorthanded Lobo women fade late at San Diego State

ken sickenger, albuquerque journal, n.m.
·5 min read

Feb. 7—Wednesday's game at San Diego State epitomized "coming up short" for the UNM women's basketball team.

Without starting point guard and spark plug Aniyah Augmon, the shorthanded Lobos fizzled late and suffered a 60-53 loss to the Aztecs in a Mountain West matinee.

Nyah Wilson scored 21 points for the Lobos, but neither she nor her teammates were able to produce at crunch time. UNM took a 51-50 lead on a Paula Reus three-point play with 4:10 left, and the Lobos did not score again until 10 seconds remained.

In the interim, SDSU scored 10 straight points, eight of them from the foul line, to take control.

Kim Villalobos had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Aztecs (15-9, 6-5).

Augmon, who averages 12.4 points and 4.0 assists per game, was forced to watch after injuring her knee late in Saturday's 62-56 loss to UNLV. Augmon, who got up slowly after diving for a loose ball and colliding with a Rebels player, finished the game but was unable to practice this week.

Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said initial X-rays came back clean but Augmon was still awaiting MRI results Wednesday. Her injury is not expected to be season-ending, he said.

"We don't think so," he said in a postgame phone interview. "We're hoping to know more by (Thursday), but I'd just call her day-to-day for now."

UNM (16-8, 7-4) certainly missed Augmon's presence against the Aztecs. Freshman Lara Langermann started in her place but was unable to provide a spark, finishing with three points, one assist and five turnovers.

The Lobos also were without reserve point guard Jaelyn Bates, who did not make the trip for personal reasons, Bradbury said. Freshman Natalia Chavez helped with ballhandling duties and collected six points and three rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench.

Despite being shorthanded, UNM was in position to steal a conference road win. Wilson scored nine points in the third quarter and Chavez hit a late 3-pointer to give the visitors a 44-38 lead going into the final 10 minutes.

The Lobos' momentum quickly evaporated.

UNM turned ball over four times and Reus missed a pair of layups in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. During that span, SDSU put together a 9-2 run to take a 47-46 lead.

There were 14 lead changes in the game, but Bradbury felt a pair of fourth-quarter SDSU possessions were critical. The first came after the Aztecs recovered a loose ball and found Jada Lewis wide open for a 3-pointer that gave the hosts a 50-48 lead.

Later, with SDSU leading 52-51, the Aztecs' Abby Prohaska missed a layup but teammate Adryana Quezada grabbed the rebound and scored to make it a three-point lead with 1:06 left.

"It comes down to making plays at the end and we didn't," Bradbury said. "Our offense wasn't good enough but we were bad defensively down the stretch, too. That (Lewis) 3 came after they dove for a loose ball and we didn't, and the put-back came because we didn't box out."

Still, lack of scoring was UNM's most glaring shortcoming Wednesday. The Lobos could not get to the foul line (just 2-for-3 on free throws) or convert often enough on open looks. Viané Cumber finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, but starters Reus, Langermann and Charlotte Kohl combined for just 14 points.

For a second straight game, UNM finished with one more made field goal than its opponent but came out on the short end on the scoreboard. Each team finished with seven 3-pointers, but the Aztecs hit 11 free throws to the Lobos' two.

The Lobos return home to host Colorado State on Saturday at noon.

AZTECS 60, LOBOS 53

NEW MEXICO (14-8, 7-4 Mountain West): Wilson 9-24 1-2 21, Langermann 1-3 0-0 3, Reus 3-9 1-1 7, Cumber 4-12 10, Kohl 2-3 0-0 4, Chavez 2-3 0-0 6, Joaquim 1-2 0-0 2, Lauro 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 22-59 2-3 53.

SAN DIEGO STATE (15-9, 6-5): Lewis 4-6 2-2 13, Barcello 2-4 0-0 6, Villalobos 8-16 0-0 16, Prohaska 1-10 4-6 6, Quezada 3-7 1-2 7, Pepe 3-7 0-0 8, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Davis 0-3 0-0 0, Green 0-3 4-4 4, Fiso 0-4 0-0 0. Totals: 21-59 11-14 60.

New Mexico 14 8 22 9 — 53

San Diego State 12 13 13 22 — 60

3-point FGs: NM 7-22 (Wilson 2-6, Langermann 1-3, Reus 0-1, Cumber 2-7, Chavez 2-2, Joaquim 0-1, Lauro 0-2); SDS 7-17 (Pepe 2-2, Jackson 0-1, Davis 0-1, Green 0-1, Fiso 0-2, Lewis 3-4, Barcello 2-4, Prohaska 0-2). Rebounds: NM 36 (Chavez 3, Wilson 7, Langermann 2, Lauro, Joaquim 3, Kohl 4, Reus 2, Cumber 11); SDS 39 (Pepe, Jackson 3, Davis 2, Green 2, Fiso 2, Lewis, Barcello, Villalobos 10, Prohaska 4, Quezada 9). Assists: NM 11 (Wilson 6, Langermann, Joaquim, Kohl, Cumber 2); SDS 11 (Pepe, Jackson, Davis, Green, Lewis, Prohaska 3, Quezada 3). Steals: NM 5 (Langermann 2, Kohl, Reus 2); SDS 6 (Green, Barcello, Villalobos 2, Prohaska, Quezada). Blocks: NM 2 (Joaquim, Kohl); SDS 3 (Davis, Lewis, Villalobos). Turnovers: NM 17, SDS 13. Team fouls: NM 16, SDS 11. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.