UNM”s Najala Howell (14) drives for a shot against Houston on Tuesday in the Pit. GREG SORBER/JOURNAL
This time the start was better than the finish.
After climbing out of double-digit holes in its first two games, the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team tossed visiting Houston into a deep one Tuesday night at Dreamstyle Arena. It was so deep, in fact, that even a huge fourth-quarter rally only made the final score look respectable.
Najala Howell scored 26 points, Ahlise Hurst added 20 and the Lobos improved to 3-0 with an 81-71 victory in front of an announced 4,825 fans.
UNM largely beat the high-pressure Cougars (1-2) at their own game, forcing 28 turnovers and attacking the basket fearlessly for three-plus quarters. The Lobos led 70-44 late in the third quarter and coasted to the finish line in spite of Houston’s 26-11 surge in the fourth.
“Houston is relentless, so you’ve got to play 40 minutes,” Lobo coach Mike Bradbury said. “I thought we played great for 30 minutes and the last 10 were not quite as bad as they looked. You’ve got to remember, (the Cougars) are good.”
The Lobos put together some of their most impressive basketball of the early season, especially on the defensive end. Hurst finished with five of UNM’s 16 steals and helped to hold down Cougars standout Jasmyne Harris.
“Ahlise did a tremendous job on Harris,” Bradbury said. “She really took on the challenge. We focused on Harris and I think that forced them into a quite a few turnovers.”
Meanwhile, UNM did an effective job taking care of the ball after coughing up 34 turnovers in last season’s double-overtime win at Houston. With Jayla Everett and Corina Carter handling point guard duties, UNM had just eight turnovers through three quarters. (The Lobos had nine giveaways in a sloppy fourth).
Everett had a rough shooting night (1 for 11 from the field) but had nine assists and just three turnovers.
“Jayla and Corina did a great job handling the ball,” Howell said, “and I thought we did a great job of preparation this week. We were focused.”
Bradbury employed his third starting lineup in as many games (Howell, Hurst, Everett, Jordan Hosey and Antonia Anderson), and UNM got off to by far its best start. All five scored in the first quarter and the Lobos put together a 16-3 run on their way to a 23-13 lead.
Hurst was particularly hot for the home team, hitting 6 of 7 from 3-point range. She and Howell are the only Lobos who have started all three games.
“This group was good,” Hurst said, “but I feel like any group can start for this team. We just have to be focused right from the start like we were tonight.”
A late 3-pointer by Everett gave New Mexico a 43-27 lead at halftime in spite of 30% shooting from the field. Bradbury was not at all concerned by the tepid shooting, pointing out his team’s 18-4 edge in turnovers and a 47-29 advantage in shot attempts.
“Our defense was good,” he said, “and we shot it so many more times that any percentage was going to be good enough.”
Howell, Anderson and Hurst then combined for 21 points in a sizzling third quarter as the Lobos put the game out of reach. Anderson finished with 11 points for UNM, while Dorian Branch had 24 (10 in the fourth quarter) to lead Houston.
LANDING A RIGHT: Bradbury delivered an unintentional punch late in the third quarter that had official Chuck Gonzalez briefly doubling over near the sideline. After recovering for a moment, he walked to the scorer’s bench smiling. No technical was called.
“We made a play and I did kind of a fist pump as I turned around,” Bradbury said, “and it just happened to hit him. I felt kind of bad. Chuck’s a good guy. But we had a good laugh about it. I’m glad he’s OK.”
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