ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After earning a victory over Nevada on Saturday night, The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team returned to WisePies Arena – The Pit just hours later to notch its third straight victory, an 87-47 win over Northern New Mexico College on Sunday afternoon. Freshman Hannah Sjerven led the Lobos with her first career double-double, posting 14 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. Sjerven stepped into the game following the departure of sophomore standout Jaisa Nunn, who left due to injury after scoring eight points in the first quarter.
Not only did Sjerven notch her first career double-double, but she also scored her first career point in the second quarter. The Lobo entered the game and saw 22 minutes on the court after having played just 12 minutes all season. Her six blocks ranks tied for second all-time in Lobo history in blocks in a single game by a freshman. Sjerven ties senior Kianna Keller, who tallied six blocks against Texas on Nov. 19, 2013.
Freshman Brittany Panetti also had an outstanding performance posting a career-high 12 points in a career-best 18 minutes. Panetti had scored just five points on the season in a total of 11 minutes prior to Sunday’s matchup. Her shot was near perfect as she went 4-for-4 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the stripe.
The pair of freshman were joined in leading the Lobo squad by three starters in double digits including junior Cherise Beynon (12), redshirt-junior Alex Lapeyrolerie (12) and senior Richelle van der Keijl (10). The five double-figure scorers helped UNM to its sixth game scoring 80 points or more this season while collecting at least 50 rebounds for the eighth time this season.
“I thought this game played out the way that we were hoping,” head coach Mike Bradbury said. “What we were hoping to get out of today was to give some kids some playing time that had not gotten to play in a while and we got that done. The good news is that they played really well. We were able to rest the people who have been playing a lot.”
The Lobos took the lead early in the first quarter and, other than a 2-2 tie just over a minute into the game, never let it go. The Lobos got out to a 10-point lead with 3:24 left in the first quarter on a jumper by junior Laneah Bryan before the Eagles’ Tairaius Lucas responded with a jumper of her own to cut the lead back down to single digits, 15-7. A Nunn layup sparked a 9-0 Lobo run that ended the quarter 24-7 in favor of UNM.
In the second quarter the Lobos slowly extended the 16-point lead to a 24-point lead for a score of 42-18 at the half.
Through the first half, UNM was outshooting the Eagles 62.1 percent (18-29) to 23.3 percent (7-30) and outrebounding 24-11.
The teams matched points in the third quarter, each posting 15. The Lobos were led by Lapeyrolerie and van der Keijl in the frame who scored six apiece while Northern N.M.’s Krishia Artieda led the Eagles with five.
The Lobos went into the fourth quarter with a 24-point advantage but Sjerven went off for 10 points to go along with six from Panetti to help lead UNM to the 40-point win. Beynon, Lapeyrolerie, van der Keijl and Burleson combined for another 13 while Bryan contributed a free throw en route to the 30-point quarter.
Overall the Lobos fired at a clip of 51.6 percent on the day compared to 30.2 percent for Northern New Mexico. The Lobos also outscored the Eagles in the paint 54-22, 18-9 in fast-break points and 47-12 in points from the bench.
UNM returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 29 when the Lobos host UNLV at home at WisePies Arena – The Pit at 7 p.m. The match looks to be an exciting one as New Mexico has suffered just three conference losses this season, one of which was a close defeat to UNLV on the road.