Lobos cruise by Air Force in Mountain West opener

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. — The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team opened Mountain West play on the right foot as the Lobos outscored Air Force by a combined 20 points in the second and third quarters to pull away for an 88-59 victory Thursday evening at Clune Arena.
 
UNM (13-1 overall, 1-0 MW) saw 12 of its 13 players score against the Falcons (0-12, 0-1) with Jaisa Nunn leading the way with 18 points and nine rebounds followed by Alex Lapeyrolerie’s 16 points and freshman Madi Washington’s 13 points off of the bench.
 
The Lobos gave themselves breathing room in the opening minutes in the third quarter as a 16-2 run to start the second half – ignited by back-to-back buckets by Nunn – turned a 37-26 halftime lead into a 53-28 advantage with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter.
 
“We talked about that at halftime,” UNM coach Mike Bradbury said. “We wanted to come out and create separation in the first few minutes … and we were able to do that with that run.”
 
The Lobos’ lead grew to as large as 32 points in the fourth quarter as UNM was able to play 10 of its 13 players 11 or more minutes.
 
The game was close early on as Air Force led 17-15 in the final minute of the first quarter before Washington drained a 3-pointer from the left wing with 13 seconds remaining.
 
The Lobo lead slowly grew to double figures as a Washington jumper with 2:18 remaining to make it 35-24 as UNM took a 37-26 lead into the break.
 
To go along with the three players in double figures, freshman Antonia Anderson tied career highs with nine points and seven rebounds while Cherise Beynon finished with seven points, four assists and four steals.
 
The Lobos shot 47 percent (31-for-66) from the field, 6-for-21 from 3-point range (28.6 percent) and were 20-for-24 from the free-throw line (83.3 percent).On the other end, UNM held Air Force to 39.7 percent shooting from the field (23-for-58).
 
It’s the first time a team this season has scored more than 76 points on Air Force – including No. 3 Louisville who beat the Falcons 62-50 in their game prior to Thursday’s contest.
 
The Lobos have a quick turnaround as they return home to host Nevada 1 p.m. Saturday at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit.