Photo GalleryALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – HBU forced 19 New Mexico turnovers, but the Lobos used 17 second-chance points to defeat the Huskies, 65-57, Friday evening from WisePies Arena in the regular season opener for both teams.
Anna Strickland finished one point shy of tying her career high as she scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Strickland's eight rebounds were tied for the game high.
Adriiana Jackson dropped an impressive 14 points in her collegiate debut, on 4-of-11 shooting and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. HBU as a team shot 32 percent from the floor.
Jaisa Nunn came off the bench to score 11 points for New Mexico, shooting 50 percent from both the floor (4-for-8) and free throw line (3-for-6). Both she and Whitney Johnson pulled down eight rebounds. The Lobos shot 39 percent from the floor in the game.
The teams opened the first five-and-a-half minutes exchanging leads before HBU took a three-point lead following a Strickland layup to give HBU a 7-6 lead and two free throws by Jackson for a 9-6 advantage. But Cherise Beynon's three-pointer knotted the game with five minutes left in the opening quarter.
Following the five-minute media timeout, UNM closed the first quarter on a 14-4 run to take a 23-13 lead.
Twice early in the second quarter HBU cut the deficit to eight following Strickland and
Lisa Zderadicka jumpers, but the Lobos used another large run – this one 11-2 – for their largest lead of the half, 37-20, with just over two minutes remaining in the opening half.
Strickland and Jackson paced the Huskies with six points apiece, while
Monet Neal and
Kennedy Collins each pulled down four rebounds. As a team, HBU shot 25 percent from the floor. Four different Lobos scored seven points, two of them being Kianna Keller and Nunn, who also pulled down six rebounds. As a team, the Lobos shot 48 percent from the floor.
New Mexico maintained its lead of 17 midway through the third quarter before the Huskies bumped up the defensive pressure and used a 10-2 run to trail by nine, 49-40, with 15 seconds remaining in the quarter. Josie Greenwood's layup with four ticks left gave the Lobos a double-digit lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The teams battled back and forth with HBU unable to get closer than nine points. With 4:43 left in regulation and down by 11, the Huskies used a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to six, 61-55. Neal forced a steal and the Huskies had a chance to cut the deficit closer, but could not capitalize. The Lobos scored four unanswered to take a 10 point lead with under a minute remaining.
HBU shot 39 percent in the second half, while UNM shot 31 percent.
HBU concludes the road trip at UTEP Sunday at 3 p.m. central time from the Don Haskins Center.
