It was an uphill battle almost from the beginning for the UNM women’s basketball team on Thursday night.
The Lobos never quite reached the summit.
Host Wyoming staggered UNM with a 15-0 first-quarter run and fought off several comeback attempts in a 78-69 victory at the Arena Auditorium in Laramie. UNM trailed by as many as 17 points before trimming the deficit to 72-66 with 2:54 left, but that was as close as the Lobos got.
Shaiquel McGruder scored a game-high 22 points and chipped in five blocks for UNM (9-6, 1-1 Mountain West), but the Lobos had no answers for Wyoming guards Grace Ellis and Malene Pedersen, who finished with 19 points apiece.