LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Senior forward Khadijah Shumpert went off for 26 points to pace the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team to a 65-51 win over No. 4 seed San Josè State on Tuesday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Mountain West Championships held at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Lobos advance to the semifinals, taking on No. 1 seed Colorado State Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. MT.
Shumpert finished the game 11-for-15 from the field, which set a new MW Tournament record for field goals made in a Second Round game. Her 26 points tied the MW record for points in a Second Round game and she set a new MW record for field goal percentage in a Second Game with .733 percent.
In addition to Shumpert, sophomore Cherise Beynon finished with nine points, six board and an assists. Senior Bryce Owens was key in the rebounding category as she had a career-high of 12 rebounds to go along with seven points and five assists. Freshman Jaisa Nunn also finished with seven points.
Off the bench, the Lobos received six points from sophomore Alex Lapeyrolerie and three from both senior Alexa Chavez and freshman Jannon Otto.
The Lobos wanted to control the game and that is exactly what they did from the get-go.
In the first quarter, the Lobos started off with an 11-5 lead. The Lobos called for time but out of the timeout, they went on a 6-0 run to take a 17-5 lead. San Josè State didn’t score until the 2:14 mark and then again with six seconds left but the Lobos left the first quarter with a 19-9 lead.
It took a couple minutes for the offense to pick up in the second, as Shumpert put the first basket of the quarter in at the 7:52 mark. The Spartans cut the Lobo lead to 27-20. Otto hit a key three with 31 seconds to go in the half to put the Lobos back up by 10 and two free throws from Beynon locked in a 12-point lead into half time, 32-20.
The Spartans worked their way back early in the third but the Lobos kept consistent offense to pull away with a comfortable lead the rest of the way. The Lobos went up by as much as 19 at the 4:35 mark after a jumper from Shumpert. The Spartans knocked down a few shows in the final four minutes to cut the Lobo lead to 13, heading to the third quarter.
SJSU started off the final period with a couple shots to bring it within 10 but six straight Lobo points put the Lobos back up by 17. The Lobos closed out the game with the reserves. The game finished with two good free throws from junior Josie Greenwood.
For the game, the Lobos shot 44 percent from the field, making it the third straight game that the Lobos have shot 40 percent or better. They shot 18 percent from the three (3-17) and 86 percent from the free throw line.
The Lobos edged the Spartans on rebounds 39-37 and put together 13 assists to the Spartans six. The Lobos had 13 turnovers and finished with five steals and 16 bench points.
The Lobos will return to action tomorrow to face No. 1 seed Colorado State. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. MT/7:30 p.m. MT and will stream live on the Mountain West Network at TheMW.com. Visit GoLobos.com for more information.