Savannah Stricker and Drew Jordon high-five Laila Abdurraqib during UNM’s 63-62 loss to Seattle on Nov. 2. Photo courtesy of UNM Athletics.
The Amy Eagan era of UNM women’s basketball began with plenty of promise, even if the end result was not what the Lady Lobos wanted.
Behind a career-best performance from pre-season All Mountain West selection Laila Abdurraqib and an 11-point fourth-quarter lead, UNM showed flashes of what it can become before falling 63-62 to Seattle University in its season opener inside The Pit (Powered by Nusenda).
Abdurraqib sparked a 12 to 1 run in the late third quarter, scoring 9 points by being aggressive and getting into the paint when UNM was having a hard time getting quality shots in Eagan’s new Princeton offense.
“My teammates were able to space the floor out for me, and I was able to make the easy play,” said Abdurraqib who finished with her first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Unfortunately, UNM could not sustain the momentum. After building the lead to 62 to 51 on a jumper from freshman guard Kate Werlni, the Lobos did score a single point the final 7 minutes and 36 seconds of the game. The Lobos missed their final 12 shots while also allowing Seattle to go on a late fourth quarter run.
“I thought we were up 11 and I subbed, and I thought when I subbed they went on a really quick 9-0 run,” Egan said. “Again, that’s part of everybody understanding that we need everybody. You gotta show up, you got to defend, you got to do your job.”
UNM was without Kaia Foster, Valerie Norwood and Gracy Wernli in the season opener. All expected to be part of the rotation if and when they become healthy.
The Lady Lobos still had a chance to take the lead back with 15 seconds down 63 to 62. Eagan and her coaching staff drew up a beautiful sideline out-of-bounds play for forward Gracie Kelsey who had a wide-open layup but missed it on the right side.
“I wish I would have ran it to the other side since Gracie Kelsey (is) a left-handed kid,” Egan said. “To be honest with you, I think I messed that up, but she had a wide-open look.”
Kelsey should feel no shame. She scored in double-figures in her first game as a Lobo with 10 points and added seven rebounds.
Post-player Mila Reynolds came off the bench to score 10 points, but at 6-foot-3, only contributed one rebound in a game where UNM was outrebounded 43 to 33 and gave up 18 offensive rebounds.
“At halftime I told our kids, ‘they’re getting 50% of their shots back,” Eagan said when addressing the rebounding disparity. “It was something we talked about and addressed. I mean I think that’s obviously something we have to continue to work on because we’re not going to out-jump people, we’re just not.”
Freshman guard Kate Wernlie was UNM’s other double-figure scorer who finished with 10 points on 2 of 6 shooting from the 3-point line. After the Lady Lobos torched the nets from the 3-point line a week ago in a 93-59 exhibition win over D-II Metro State, UNM was only 4 of 20 from deep as a team.
“I think a lot of our threes were slightly rushed,” Abdurraqib said. Seattle pressed the Lobos all-game long, and so open, uncontested 3-pointers were not the shot that was available.
Seattle was led by forward Cristina Jones who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lady Lobos are back in the Pit (Powered by Nusenda) on Friday where they will take on New Mexico Highlands at 6 p.m.
“We play in less than what, 72 hours” Abdurraqib said. “So you got to move on. Sometimes you win some, you lose some… winning on Friday is the goal.”
Laila Abdurraqib led New Mexico with a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, sparking a 12-1 run that helped the Lady Lobos build an 11-point fourth-quarter lead against Seattle University. However, UNM went scoreless over the final 7:36, missing its last 12 shots in a heartbreaking 63-62 season-opening loss. Amy Eagan's first game also highlighted areas for improvement, particularly rebounding and perimeter shooting, as the Lady Lobos look to rebound Friday against New Mexico Highlands.