ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Despite a slow first quarter that saw the Lobos shooting just 2-for-14 from the field and 1-of-8 from behind the arc, the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team rallied for a commanding 89-70 win over the visiting Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds at WisePies Arena – The Pit on Sunday afternoon.
“In the first half I thought that Eastern came in here and played harder than us and whipped us, especially on the boards, in the first half,” head coach Mike Bradbury said. “I think in the second half we did a lot better in that area. I give them a lot of credit, they have seven or eight division one transfers. I would venture to say they have just as much talent as we have and I was glad that we played better and harder in the second half.”
The Lobos (0-0, 2-0 Exhibition) ultimately shot 37.9 percent from the field, highlighted by over 47 percent in both the second and third quarters, compared to 36.3 for ENMU (0-0, 0-2 Exhibition).
Leading the Lobos in their second exhibition win of the season was Mountain West Preseason Freshman of the Year Mykiel Burleson who scored 19 points while tacking on four rebounds and three steals in 26 minutes. Junior standout Cherise Beynon did not disappoint on Sunday afternoon, adding 18 points and seven rebounds en route to the victory. Beynon was just 2-for-14 from the field and 1-of-5 from long range, but racked up 13 free throws to manage points for the Lobos.
Junior Alex Lapeyrolerie also contributed heavily to the Lobo offense for the second-straight game as the fifth Lobo to score in double figures with 13 points. Lapeyrolerie spent the most time on the court for UNM, totaling 33 minutes on the day.
Two Lobos posted double-doubles including senior Richelle van der Keijl, who scored 11 points and brought down 10 boards, and sophomore Jaisa Nunn who tallied 13 points, all in the second half, and 12 rebounds. Defensively senior Kianna Keller led the Lobos with six blocks while also notching 10 rebounds.
“If there was anybody who made huge improvements from game one to game two, it was Jaisa,” Bradbury said. “She was aggressive, wasn’t hesitant. She was a little hesitant in game one and I thought that she played much more aggressive in game two. Overall I thought Jaisa played really well.”
The Lobos were down by as many as five in the first quarter, lagging behind 11-6 with 4:55 remaining in the frame, but an 8-2 run to close out the first quarter put the Lobos back on top, 14-13. Of the eight points, six were free throws.
In the second quarter, the Lobos improved significantly, shooting 47.1 percent from the field, compared to 14.3 percent in the first. Lapeyrolerie led UNM with eight points in the period that kicked off with a two-point jumper from Jasmine Hotchkins to reclaim the lead for the Greyhounds, 15-14.
It was then that UNM reclaimed the lead and never looked back. A Lapeyrolerie jumper put UNM back on top just nine seconds later and a 20-8 run, highlighted by six points from both Beynon and Lapeyrolerie gave New Mexico a lofty 11-point lead.
At the half, UNM led 41-32 shooting 10-of-31 from the field (32.3 percent) and 19-of-29 from the stripe (65.5 percent). Beynon led the Lobos with 12 points at the break.
The Lobos continued to put the game away throughout the second half, never relinquishing the lead. Burleson and Nunn paced UNM in the second half with 13 points apiece. Burleson went 5-for-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from the line while Nunn had a 4-of-6 showing from the field and went 5-of-6 from the stripe.
Nunn’s improvement from game one to game two was apparent in the second half, as she scored all 13 of her points throughout the final two quarters.
“In the first half, [Coach Bradbury] said you need to be less hesitant, or else you’re going to miss your shot,” Nunn said. “I had really worked a lot on it at practice, just kept shooting threes and got a little bit more confident and the results were better. I’m still working on it.
We still have a little more work to do, but that’s what exhibition games are supposed to do,” Nunn added. “Now we see what we need to work on, and now we’ll work on it in the next couple of practices and prepare for the first official season game.”
Sunday’s game marks the Lobos’ final preseason exhibition competition and the squad looks to tip off the 2016-17 regular season on Saturday, Nov. 12 against Fairleigh Dickinson at WisePies Arena – The Pit at 2 p.m.