By George Hronich
For Enchantment Sports
The University of New Mexico Lady Lobos escape Laramie with 78-75 win over Wyoming behind junior PG Aisia Robertson
The Saturday afternoon game in Laramie was provided fans with sixteen lead changes in the game, with largest lead by either team was seven by UNM. The last big run would be a 9-0 spurt by UNM, the last seven of those by Robertson, to give the Lobos a 74-70 lead they would not relinquish.
The Lobos would take advantage of early turnovers by Wyoming to take an early 6-0 lead.
But then the Lobo would commit their own turnovers. Couple this with multiple misses from within the paint, and the Cowgirls ran off the next nine points. Wyoming leading scorer Marta Gomez scored the first seven for the Cowgirls; while Robertson, put the Lobos on her back ended Gomez’s run with a jumper.
Lobo freshman Brea Matthews came off the bench and provided some energy and a spark. Matthews would grab an offensive rebound, get fouled, and make two free throws to help keep the score close.
Wyoming went 3 of 6 from behind the arc and amazing play by Gomez, gave the Cowgirls a 17-15 lead after one period of play.
Wyoming had several players shooting over 40% from downtown; three point shooting would be the key to this game.
UNM has had great success during the second quarter of games recently, and today was no exception. Senior post Jaisa Nunn scored the first six Lobo points of the period,including a corner three ball. Wyoming scored the next six on two more three pointers to take a 25-21 lead. It was the Lobos turn to go on a run, this one was 12-0.
Freshman Ahlise Hurst stepped up with her own mini five point run in the string and sophomore Jaedyn de la Cerda contributed with a trey.
Freshman Shai Mcgruder came with her energy and scored four of her six points in the quarter. The Lobos took a 36-29 lead into the halftime locker room.
Third quarter blues hit the Lobos as they came out cold. UNM suffered only five first half turnovers, the second half however… they quickly committed two and went cold from the floor.
Wyoming beat the UNM defense down the floor and scored the first seven points of the half to tie the game.
Robertson again led UNM out of their shooting doldrums with a big bucket to stop the Cowgirl spurt.
The teams would exchange buckets over the next four minutes to stay tied. Every time Wyoming hit a two or three pointer, the Lobos countered with the same.
Tied at 46 , Wyoming would go on a 7-2 run led by Gomez, who would finish with 28 points. The Cowgirls went up 53-48 with two minutes left in the third period.
Robertson once again stood in the gap and led a Lobo charge with six points. A jumper by Nunn and a clutch three by freshman Jayla Everett helped the Lobos regain a 57-56 lead after three.
The fourth period started with a solid defensive stand and a trey by Robertson, and UNM looked to cruise. Unfortunately, they did try to cruise as UNM went a little cold and were not getting back on defense.
With the Lobos lackadaisical defense, Wyoming guard Taylor Rusk was left open and hit back to back treys giving Wyoming a six point lead with a little over five minutes left.
Robertson again stopped the bleeding with a jumper and Everett hit another big three to keep the Lobos within striking distance.
With three minutes left, Wyoming still had a five point cushion and seemed to have the momentum but Robertson once again stepped up with an excellent pass to Jaisa to cut the lead to 70-67.
Then Robertson completely took over with her own 7-0 run to cap the big 9-0 run and a 74-70 Lobo lead at the one minute mark. T
Wyoming didn’t go quietly into the night as Gomez hit her final three of the game.
Wyoming had to foul to stop the clock, and because they had only been called for two fouls in the quarter, had to foul a couple more times before sending the Lobos to the free throw line and hoping for UNM to miss.
With 17 seconds left, Nunn went to the line and sank two. Wyoming came quickly back with a layup and fouled the freshman Everett Jayla. She calmly sank both her free throws to secure the 78-75 victory
Robertson led the Lobos with 24 points going 11-18 from the field and hitting some big run stoppers and making big plays down the stretch. She also had five rebounds, three steals and committed only two turnovers.
Nunn finished with 16 points and two big free throws down the stretch. Everett finished with 14 points and hit four treys that were clutch. Hurst had another solid game with eight points, four rebounds and two steals and continues her good defensive play.
Three point shooting was thought to be a key factor coming into the game. Wyoming has shot at a 42% clip behind the arc this season. On their friendly home court they made 12-27 attempts. The Lobos were able to keep pace, making 11-25.
The Lobos remain tied for 2nd in the loss column at 4-1. With Boise St. winning at Fresno St. today, the Broncos are 5-0 and the only team yet to lose in league play. The Lobos are now tied with Fresno St. and Utah St.
Next up for the Lobos is UNLV, who will come into the game with three straight wins. Coach Bradbury is 0-5 against UNLV. The Wyoming losing streak was broken today, can They break another Wednesday? Should be a great game, hope a lot of fans come out to support the Lady Lobos.
George Hronich, a longtime fan and close follower of the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team, is covering the squad this season for Enchantment Sports. If you have any feedback, tips or story ideas for George, please email him at EnchantmentSportsNM@gmail.com.
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