Lobos picked fourth in MW, sweep preseason awards
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team was picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West and swept the preseason awards the conference announced Wednesday afternoon.
The voting panel consisted of the league’s 11 head coaches and select women’s basketball media from around the conference. UNM collected four first-place votes (there were 25 votes total) and 186 points – only behind Boise State (221 points, seven first-place votes), Wyoming (216 points, six first-place votes) and Colorado State (211 points, six first-place votes).
UNM’s Cherise Beynon was selected to the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, N’Dea Flye was selected Preseason Freshman of the Year and transfer Tesha Buck was named the Preseason Newcomer of the Year as the Lobos swept the preseason award.
Beynon is coming off a season that saw her finish in the top 10 in the Mountain West in scoring (15.8 – third), rebounding (7.5 – eighth), assists (6.6 – first), steals (1.9 second) and 3-pointers made (53 – eighth). She was not only an All-Mountain West performer last season, she was also selected to the MW All-Defensive Team and put together two triple-doubles (the first Lobo triple-double since 1979).
Flye comes to UNM out of the standout basketball program at Oregon City High School in Oregon City, Oregon. She averaged 11.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals her senior season while helping Oregon City to a runner-up finish at state. She was the Mount Hood Conference Player of the Year, a Gatorade Player of the Year finalist in Oregon and a McDonald’s All-American nominee. She was ranked the 152nd recruit in the 2017 class by ESPNW. As a freshman, she helped Oregon City win the 2014 state championship.
Buck transferred to UNM from Wisconsin-Green Bay prior to the 2016-17 season and sat out last season. While at WGB, the Minnesota native scored more than a 1,000 points (averaged 10.3 points per game) while hitting 183 3-pointers along with averaging 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game during her three seasons.
2017-18 Mountain West Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Rank, Team (1st-place votes), Points
1. Boise State (7), 221
2. Wyoming (6), 216
3. Colorado State (6), 211
4. New Mexico (4), 186
5. UNLV (2), 185
6. Utah State, 136
7. Fresno State, 117
8. San Diego State, 102
9. San José State, 61
10. Nevada, 60
11. Air Force, 29
2017-18 Mountain West Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Shalen Shaw, Sr., F, Boise State
Candice White, Jr., G, Fresno State
Cherise Beynon, Sr., G, New Mexico
McKynzie Fort, Sr., G, San Diego State
Liv Roberts, Sr., G, Wyoming
Preseason Player of the Year
Cherise Beynon, Sr., G, New Mexico
Preseason Freshman of the Year
N’Dea Flye, PG, New Mexico
Preseason Newcomers of the Year
Tesha Buck, R-Sr., G, New Mexico