MW Tournament Quarterfinal: UNM Lobos vs. WYO Cowgirls

Every Lobo game during the Mountain West Tournament I will be adding thoughts throughout/after the game in a blog post. This will be the first of this experiment, which should be fun to do. Let’s have fun.

Lobos have hit two threes already tonight, one by Flye and another by Bryan. If you read my preview I said the Lobos need to hit 10+ threes tonight.

There is a good sized crowd tonight for both Wyoming and New Mexico, should be a fun atmosphere all night.

3:06 1Q: Lobos 10 Wyoming 8. The pace so far tonight is in between what the Lobos and Cowgirls want, no decided advantage right now. The Lobos need to find Beynon and Nunn in the offense

There is The Microwave heating up with a 3. Madi Washington will be huge in this game.

Playing Nunn and AT together this game could be a game changer.

End of the first: Lobos 13 Wyoming 10. The first quarter was played at Wyoming pace but the Lobos end the quarter with a 3 point advantage.

Washington and AF are already putting their fingerprints on this game, and are trying to make me look smart.

Nunn starting to dominate the offensive glass, she has 6 points and 6 rebounds already tonight.

AT with another blocked shot, she is playing so well on defense.

4:12 2Q: Lobos 22 Wyoming 16. Nunn will have a 2 Free Throws after the media timeout, looking for her 7 and 8th point of the night to go along with 7 rebounds.

AT now has 5 points, 2 rebounds, 4 blocked shots. Thanks for making me look smart.

After playing at Wyoming’s pace in the first quarter the Lobos have been able to turn up the speed of the game with their defense and have outscored Wyoming 20-6 in the quarter.

This lead has been built with the Lobos defense.

Halftime: Lobos 33 Wyoming 18. Lobos were led by their defense and got 11 points and 8 rebounds from Nunn, 6 points from Washington and AT had a big first half with 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots.  To build a 15 point lead at the half against this Wyoming team is very impressive.

Lobos did a great job of limiting MW Player of the Year Liv Roberts impact, holding her to 4 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assists in the first half.

7:16 3Q: Lobos 33 Wyoming 25. Lobos have come out flat in the 3rd quarter and Wyoming has taken advantage and has started the half on a 7-0 run. Lobos need to find traction soon or this one could slip away.

4:49 3Q: Lobos 39 Wyoming 29. After getting the pace they way they like in the 2nd quarter the tide has turned in the 3rd as the Lobos have only scored 6 points so far this quarter. The tone of the game has shifted.

Wyoming has dominated the 3rd quarter so far outscoring the Lobos 20-9 with 2:16 left in the quarter.

End of 3 quarters: WYO 43 Lobos 42. Lobos lost their 15 points halftime lead and will have work to do to pull this one out. The Cowgirls won the third 25-9. The Lobo starters besides Nunn are 4 of 26 from the floor.

6:28 4Q: Wyoming 50 Lobos 45. Wyoming has outscored the Lobos 32-12 in the second half. The Lobos need to find a way to get Nunn the ball and turn the tide of the second half.

Lobos fall 69-66 and will wait for the fate to see if they will be playing more basketball. Lobos had great performances from Nunn, Washington and AT.

There will be questions that need to be asked about this game, the Lobos had their chances to win this game and have a golden opportunity to make it to the Championship game. I am surprised by the lack of minutes of AT in the second half and the inefficiency of Beynon, Buck, and Flye (combined 7 for 34). The game change in the third quarter when the Lobos shot 1 of 14 from the floor while Wyoming was 9 of 13 which lead to Wyoming turning a 15 deficit into a 1 point win.