A fourth-quarter surge let the Lobos women’s hoops squad walk off the court with a 71-68 win over UNLV Monday. 

The late rally was capped by a game-winning 3-pointer by LaTora Duff with 5.4 seconds remaining. That, coupled with Shaiquel McGruder’s double-double, was enough for the Lobos (11-4, 2-0 in conference play) to stay undefeated on their home court, where they have played eight games so far this season.

“You know, they have great talent and they’re extremely well coached,” Head Coach Mike Bradbury said of the Lady Rebels (10-4, 2-1). "So, we were fortunate to get out of here tonight on top.”

The game saw seven ties and four lead changes, with the Lobos trailing much of the game. They headed into the final quarter with a six-point deficit, 50-44, before the team turned on the after burners, outscoring the Lady Rebels 27-18 to earn the three-point win. 

McGruder was one player who got hot in the final 10 minutes, scoring nine of her team-leading 17 points in the final frame as New Mexico caught up and put itself in position to win in the closing seconds. McGruder also pulled down 15 boards and had two assists and a blocked shot.

She was one of four Lobos players to end up with double figures.

Duff scored 14 points, as she went a perfect 7-for-7 from the stripe and sank her only trey as time was ticking down. She had four rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots to fill out her stat line. 

Her sister, LaTascya Duff, also had 14 points, with a hat trick from behind the arc. The fourth Lobo to score in double figures was Jaedyn De La Cerda, who ended with 15 points.

The team shot 56.3% from the floor in the final quarter, and 66.7% from long range. Those percentages were the team’s best performances for any quarter this season.