The women's basketball team took care of business against the San José State Spartans as they blew them out 72-51 on Wednesday, Feb. 14. The Lobos remain in third place in the Mountain West conference with five games left of the regular season.
Last time these two teams met up, the Lobos beat them on the road 65-54. With their latest win, the Lobos have now swept the Spartans – improving their record to 18-8 and 9-4 in conference play.
In the first quarter, the Lobos offense was draining shots from all over the court and played suffocating defense – holding the Spartans to 12 points on 21% shooting. The Lobos demonstrated good teamwork in this quarter which set the tone for the rest of the game. The Lobos led 17-12 at the end of one.
To start the second, the Lobos continued their dominance offensively as they knocked down shot after shot and kept up their incredible defensive play. It was clear the Lobos had firm control of the game; as soon as they grabbed the lead in the first, they were not gonna give it up. Lobos lead at halftime 33-23.
When the third quarter started, the Lobos ran away with the game. Junior guard Vianè Cumber took over the quarter offensively, knocking down shot after shot. To complement her performance on the defensive side, senior forward Hulda Joaquim was everywhere – grabbing rebounds and locking down the paint all quarter. The Lobos lead 52-32 at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was more of the same as the Lobos dominated on both ends of the court to seal the deal and take the victory at The Pit. Cumber finished the game, leading the team in scoring with 17 points on 5-11 shooting, going 3-7 from the three-point line. Joaquim finished the game with four points on 2-4 shooting but led the team with 11 rebounds.
This is the Lobos’ second straight win. To keep the streak going, the first thing they have to do is get healthy, Head Coach Mike Bradbury said.
“We got to get healthy; we got a lot of people fighting through stuff. Getting healthy is the first thing we have to do,” Bradbury said.
Cumber had a great game offensively and said she plans to stay consistent.
“(I’m) staying consistent and just doing my best to make sure I'm able to knock down shots and be in the right spots,” Cumber said.
As for Joaquim, her performance defensively was strictly for the team and helping them find ways to win.
“I was playing my best. I had to try and help my team win, and that was by getting rebounds and getting defensive stops,” Joaquim said.
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The Lobos play their next game on the road against the Boise State Broncos for another conference battle on Wednesday, Feb. 21.
Rodney Prunty is a freelance sports reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on twitter @Rprunty05
