by by Allison Weiss
CEDAR CITY, Utah— LaTascya Duff led the Lobos with a game-high 20 points, one of four players to finish in double figures, but New Mexico fell in its season opener to Southern Utah 76-68.
Shaiquel McGruder, LaTora Duff and Jaelyn Bates (San Felipe/Sioux/Navajo) all finished with 13 points, with Bates accounting for a team-high four assists in her first true collegiate game.
Defensively, the Lobos created 16 steals, led by five each from McGruder and LaTascya (tying her career high), and forced 26 turnovers, scoring 26 points off of turnovers and 19 fast-break points.
The Lobos scored the first five points of the game, courtesy of the Duff sisters, as LaTascya hit a three-pointer off of an Amaya Brown offensive rebound, and on the following possession stole the ball and passed it ahead to LaTora for the fast-break layup. The Duffs continued to carry the Lobos in the opening quarter as after the Thunderbirds got on the board, LaTora hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to six at 8-2, and a LaTascya three-pointer pushed the lead to nine at 13-4.
SUU went on a run to cut the lead down to two at 13-11 with 3:46 to play, but a LaTora jumper from the elbow kept the Lobos in front and a LaTascya fast-break layup off of a steal closed the scoring for the Lobos, with UNM taking a 17-16 lead into the second quarter.
LaTascya and LaTora led the Lobos with eight and seven points, respectively, collectively accounting for 15 of the team’s 17 points. LaTascya also created three steals in the opening 10 minutes, with the Lobos having five as a team.
Southern Utah opened the second quarter with a 5-0 run less than a minute into the frame to take its first lead of the game at 21-17, but the Lobos answered with a 7-4 run to pull within one, with LaTascya giving the Lobos the lead back at 27-25 on a three-pointer. The Lobo run continued with a LaTascya jumper and a McGruder layup in what amounted to a 9-0 Lobo run and a 31-25 Lobo lead. UNM’s lead built back up to eight at 35-27 on a McGruder layup, with New Mexico taking a five-point lead into the half at 41-36.
LaTascya added nine points in the second quarter on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting that included a three-pointers and also went 2-for-2 at the free-throw line. McGruder contributed seven points in the second, with the Lobos outscoring the Thunderbirds 24-20.
Two three-pointers by SUU to start the third quarter tied the game, and while a McGruder layup restored UNM’s lead, Southern Utah’s scoring run continued with a 9-0 run that put the home team in front 52-43. Bates provided a spark for the Lobos with a personal 6-0 run that included drawing a foul on a layup and converting the and-one opportunity at the line followed by a transition three that brought the game back within a possession at 52-49. Bates added a fast-break layup off of a steal for the eighth-straight point for the freshman point guard, finishing with eight points in the quarter as the Lobos trailed 61-55.
After the Lobos closed the third quarter scoring the last four points, McGruder kept the scoring run going in the fourth quarter, but two SUU baskets pushed the margin back to eight at 65-57 with 7:14 left to play. A LaTora three-pointer with 6:50 remaining made it 65-60, but was the closest the Lobos would get for the rest of the contest.
The Lobos had opportunities in the second half, forcing 10 steals and 13 turnovers, but couldn’t find an answer offensively, going 4-for-19 from three-point range and shooting 29.7% from the floor. UNM scored just five points off of turnovers.
