WBB Review: Utah State Pushes New Mexico To The Brink In Tight Road Loss

ALBUQUERQUE – A late scramble by New Mexico thwarted a spectacular effort by the Aggies in a thriller at the Pit on Saturday. Utah State led by as many as nine points, and the Lobos only led for 11:29 in total, but Wes Brooks' group couldn’t seal the deal on the road and fell late to New Mexico, 73-65.

After conceding 101 points to the Lobos in the home half of the season series, the Aggies made a remarkable improvement on defense. In a matchup between two of the fastest teams in the league, they employed a shocking level of defensive aptitude to dictate much of the game. Facing what is essentially a better version of themselves, the Aggies didn’t flinch. They showed up ready to fight from the tip and played hard until the end, barely relinquishing their lead in the last quarter, after a last-ditch effort from New Mexico. 

The Aggies snatched an early lead, taking the Lobos by surprise and building a 6-2 advantage after New Mexico opened the game with a Hulda Joaquim layup. Utah State enjoyed that same four-point lead by the end of the first quarter. When a three-pointer from Nayli Padilla with 3:30 left in the first quarter put New Mexico on top, 7-6, Utah State maintained composure and responded with a 5-0 run to regain control, extending its lead to a more comfortable 11-7. A pair of free throws from Joan Magalhães brought the score to 11-9, but Stubbs, as she is wont to do, hit a layup at the buzzer to go up 13-9. Utah State's defense was the star of the show in the stanza, completely neutralizing the Lobo offense, and at times making it look entirely lost. The Lobos had 10 turnovers to only three assists in the first quarter.

Both offenses began to settle in during the second frame. Layups from Joaquim and Destinee Hooks tied the game at 13, but the Aggies quickly regained the lead with a 7-2 run, extending their advantage to 20-15 midway through the quarter. Padilla and Stubbs swapped three-pointers, and Joaquim and Hooks both added on to make it a one-point game. Then, Viane Cumber hit a three-pointer and gave New Mexico the lead at 25-23 with 3:15 left on the clock. Magalhães extended the Lobo lead to four points with a layup at 1:46, but Jamisyn Heaton embarked on her own personal 5-1 run to erase the gap and tie the game at 28 heading into the break.

Heaton continued her scoring streak with a layup to start the second half, sparking an 11-2 overall run for the Aggies. The Lobos finally came alive with two answered layups, but the Aggies maintained their edge through the third quarter. With 21 seconds left in the frame, CJ Latta hit a three to make 53-45 – but an ill-timed and-one from Hooks kept the Lobos more in reach as the quarter ended. Stubbs scored 12 of her 21 points in the third, Latta nailed two three-pointers, and Heaton, who kickstarted it all, had four points. Those three paved the way for a 25-20 advantage during the frame and put Utah State up by five with one final quarter to play.

The three points from Hooks to end the third turned into nine unanswered by the Lobos as they pieced together a 14-5 run spanning from the third quarter to the fourth to make it a one-point game two minutes into the final frame. The Aggies regrouped with a layup from Sophie Sene and Isabella Tañedo to regain the lead at 57-54 with seven minutes remaining, but they couldn’t shake the Lobos. The teams traded free throws, but the Aggies let the Lobos take the next move.

Over the next three minutes, New Mexico embarked on a 10-0 run, started by a three from Cumber, to take a 65-58 lead, its most commanding of the night to that point. Mia Tarver, one of Utah State’s only upperclassmen and a player with a knack for hitting big shots, knocked down a three-pointer to break up the Lobo run and bring the Aggies back within four, but they weren't ready to close out the game, and granted the Lobos a 6-0 run that all but secured the win for Cumber and her Lobos. After a third quarter that favored the Aggies, the Lobos put on a clinic in the fourth to will themselves to victory. They won the frame by a convincing 25-12 margin, shooting 57.1 percent from the floor and 60 percent from deep while holding the Aggies to a 4-of-17 shooting quarter. 

Cumber accounted for 10 of those 25 points, with Magalhães pitching in for six. Meanwhile, Sene led the fourth-quarter effort for the Aggies with four, while Tarver and Tanedo had three each and Stubbs had two.

In a targeted effort spearheaded by Heaton, the Aggies did a great job of containing Cumber for most of the game, but in the fourth quarter, the Lobo senior and New Mexico native got loose, and was able to scrape together a nice overall performance. She led the Lobos with 20 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter, plus six rebounds and two assists. Also notching double digits were Magalhães, who had 14, Hooks with 12, and Padilla with 10.

Stubbs, despite having the opposite fourth quarter, topped Cumber with a game-high 21 points. She also led the team in both rebounds and assists with seven and three, and she had a steal. Heaton added 13 points, six rebounds, an assist and a team-high four steals. Latta had nine points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and three steals. Tarver and Sene each had four points. Tarver added four rebounds, two assists and three steals while Sene had six rebounds and a steal. 

Utah State’s defense had a great night and forced 22 turnovers with 14 steals. The Aggies still gave away 15 turnovers, however, and only had eight assists. New Mexico’s physicality overwhelmed the Aggies, who were outrebounded, 53-38. 

New Mexico broke an eight-game losing streak when trailing after the third quarter with the victory, and added another game to its now 17-game winning streak over the Aggies. For their part, the Aggies have a seven-game losing streak to worry about, and will try to avoid adding another game to it as they face San Jose State on Wednesday.