NM State Aggies vs UNM Lobos Women’s Basketball 12-5-21 Part 2

Continued from Part 1.

Second Quarter

There as a fan hamburger-making contest during the break.  No more Dino Dash.  Sigh.  Ron had called my attention to a group of young women coming in earlier.  They were in warmup suits, so I thought they were a high school team.  Close.  They took off their jackets and turned out to be cheerleaders.  They trooped by during the break.

The Aggies started off physically stealing a ball from Jaedyn de la Cerda under the basket, but didn’t score on the possession.  The Lobos briefly went to an up tempo offense, but the Aggies expanded their lead to 21-16.  Soufia Inoussa hit a 3 to make it 24-16.  Duff on the Lobos answered right away to make it 24-19. 

 

I have to digress here for a moment.  It wasn’t until the Fourth Quarter that I realized that there are two players named Duff on the Lobos, LaTascya and LaTora.  Judging from them being both seniors and the same height, I’m guessing they’re twins, like Monique and Dominique Mills on the Aggies a couple of years ago.  Anyway, since I didn’t figure that out until late, my scorecard and notes are worthless as far as these two players are concerned.  It’s just going to be “Duff” for the rest of the game notes.  Flip a coin on who it is.

 

Back to the shootout, Taylor Donaldson and Fama Thiam both drilled 3 to give the Aggies a 30-19 lead.  The Aggie fans roared up a storm as the game went to the under 5 minute TV timeout.  When play resumed, Jaedyn got her first point off a free throw.  Bigue Sarr picked up a personal foul and came out after a Taylor bucket. 

 

Duff hit another 3.  Molly Kaiser got a sweet scoop shot under two big Lobo forwards for a 37-25 lead.  She then got a rebound and a layup.  The Lobos made a comeback and got it to 39-32 at the half.     

  

Halftime 

The Lobo fan in the Santa hat left at the half.  If he came with the group on the charter bus, why would he have left?  The halftime entertainment was the high school cheerleader group.  They were the Mayfield Trojettes (as opposed to Trojans).  They performed an extremely high-energy number.  Their buff guy coach was equally energetic on the sidelines directing them. 

 

I have to say their best move was after they finished.  The girls threw back their heads, huffed, and strutted off the court in formation.  Their sheer arrogance was admirable.  The Aggie Cheerleaders and the Sundancers politely applauded as the girls passed by.  The Trojettes got another round of applause when they got back to their seats.  Their families and boosters were in the section.  To their credit, even after the performance, they all stayed until the end of the game.

 

Third Quarter

According to the stats on the video screen, the Lobos were up in rebounds, but bench scoring and shooting percentage were way up for the Aggies.  Back to play, Jaedyn took a 3, but missed.  She was taking some shots, but nothing was going in for her.  41-36 Aggies, but Shaiquel McGruder had gotten a couple of Lobo layups forcing an Aggie timeout.  Sarr reasserted herself with a rebound and a bucket, 43-30 Aggies.  The Lobos were stifled on the other end for a shot clock violation.  Molly Kaiser took a charge for a Lobo foul.  The Aggie bench went berserk.

 

Molly then hit a 3 to make it 46-36.  The Lobo coach screamed loud enough over a non-call by the refs to silence the arena.  Scary.  The under 5 minute TV timeout had the score at 46-38.  Back to play, Sarr was fouled and sank her throws.  Sarr is big, tall, and athletic, but she’s no Shaq.  She hits her free throws.  50-42 Aggies and the Lobos took a timeout.  I can almost guess how that went given how the game finished.  The Lobo coach finally came to the conclusion that they might want to double-team (or more) Sarr down low.  Also, he sat Jaedyn out and replaced her with a taller girl to further go after Sarr.    

 

Aggie point guard, Mel Isbell, airballed a three, then she got dunked on on the other end.  Duff hit a three for the Lobos.  Mel came up with a steal, but Molly missed the final shot of the quarter.  56-42 Aggies.

 

Fourth Quarter

The crowd went crazy for another t-shirt toss.  A woman behind me was screaming for one.  A Cheerleader threw one with all her strength at her.  I ducked and the t-shirt went right behind me.  The lady snagged it and seemed very happy. 

 

Taylor made a 3 to start, but Antonia Anderson and Duff both hit 3’s in response.  It was 61-51 during a timeout.  The Mayfield Cheerleaders posed up a storm for Flex Cam on the video board.  Out of the break, Duff drained another 3.  Sarr answered with a bucket.  Duff fired in another 3.  It’s almost like she’s two players!  (This was when I figured out there were two Duffs on the team.)

 

The Lobos had closed to 63-59.  Paula Reus got a basket.  The Lobo fan section was now up and cheering.  Anderson tied it at 63.  Timeout Aggies.  The Lobos fans gave their girls a round of applause when they got back to their bench.  I noticed Sarr seemed to be limping a little out of the timeout.  Ron said afterward, he thought that she’d been injured in play in the second half.  The Aggies were having trouble getting the ball to her under the basket and having to take long jumpers, which weren’t going in.  Sarr was quad-teamed late and got fouled.  She converted, but the Lobos would retake the lead, 65-64, with just over 2 minutes remaining. 

 

Duff with another 3.  Her shooting was insane this quarter (whichever sister it was).  Sarr got a basket, but Duff came back with a basket, 70-66 Lobos.  Timeout Aggies.  Mel had a turnover on a travel, and from there the Aggies were intentionally fouling.  The Lobos would win 73-66.  The team charged the court as the Aggie fight song inappropriately played over the final announcements. 

 

I can’t believe I missed the annual Christmas romance movie marathon on Ion for this.  I had a new tub of ice cream ready to go to eat in front of the TV.  I may eat it anyway and cry over this game.  Actually, I didn’t expect the Aggies to win going into this.  They surprised me by playing well for most of the game.  Ron was inconsolable and sat blankly for a couple of minutes while I was writing stats down off the scoreboard.  The loss was bad, but now there was no way of convincing me to come back for the rest of the season.   

 

Don’t bother reading this too closely; the player shots don’t add up.  LaTora Duff was the dominant Duff sister with 24 points for the Lobos.  Antonia Anderson also had a great game with 16 points and 12 rebounds.  I can’t believe Jaedyn de la Cerda only had 1 point for the game.  Worse, taking her out was the turning point for the Lobos.  I wouldn’t exactly say I was rooting for her, but I was enjoying watching her play.  Bigue Sarr led all scorers with 28 points and 12 rebounds.  What a player!  Just a little more outside shooting support and the Aggies could have won this one easy.  I think Coach Atkinson is still winless against the Lobos.  This will be brought up whenever her contract is up.     

 

Ron was grumbling out to the parking lot, “They were up by 13 and lost by 7.”  At least it had been an efficient soul-crushing loss, as it came in at under two hours.  By odd coincidence, the Sundancer I’d noticed during the game, was parked right next to us with her boyfriend.  She seemed nice as Ron deferred to let her in to her car first.  I’d like to say the meal afterward at Arby’s made up for the loss, but it wasn’t that great.  No wonder the place was empty.  People kept driving around outside wondering if the lobby was even open.  Never say “Never,” but there may not be any more Aggie Sports reporting until next year.  (I still have those free tickets to the Aggie Men’s game on New Years Day.)