SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Three double-digit scoring performances, including 31 points from senior Richelle van der Keijl, powered The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team to an 82-72 victory over San Jose State on the road on Saturday afternoon. The Lobos went into halftime down by five before rattling of a 22-0 run to kick off the third quarter, outscoring the Spartans 29-9 in the frame en route to the win.
With the victory, the Lobos improve to 13-10 overall, 8-4 in the Mountain West, while San Jose State falls to 7-15, 4-6 in the league.
van der Keijl notched her seventh double-double of the season in the contest and her 31 points marks not only a career-high, but also ranks tied for eighth in UNM history in points in a single game. The senior was followed by junior Cherise Beynon who scored 18 points and freshman Mykiel Burleson who notched 13 points to go along with seven rebounds, nearing her first collegiate double-double.
The Lobos got out to a slow start in the first quarter with the teams tying the game four times before San Jose State got out to a five-point lead, 20-15 with 1:54 left in the frame. The five points was the largest lead of the game before UNM scored four straight to bring the game back within one, 20-19 at the end of the quarter.
The teams stayed close throughout the second quarter, trading baskets before SJSU went on a 7-0 run to get out to a nine-point lead, 45-36, with 1:30 left in the half. The Lobos closed the half scoring four straight points on a pair of free throws from Burleson and a layup from Beynon to make it 45-40, SJSU, at the half.
The Lobo comeback didn’t stop there. UNM went on an outstanding 22-0 run to kick off the third quarter and turn a five-point deficit to a 17-point lead just over halfway into the quarter. The run included 11 points from Burleson, a pair of layups from van der Keijl, a Jayda Bovero 3-pointer and a pair of jumpers from Beynon and junior Alex Lapeyrolerie.
“I thought Mykiel and Alex were both really good, especially in the third quarter,” head coach Mike Bradbury said. “Mentally, they attacked the basket and I think that got us scoring. We also got on the free throw line – we got in the bonus and that helped too.”
The Spartans scored their first basket of the frame at the 4:02 mark when senior Jasmine Smith worked free in the lane for a layup to make it 62-47 UNM. The Lobos proceeded to take the lead to 20 on another layup from van der Keijl before SJSU went on a 7-0 run over 53 seconds to cut the Lobo lead to 13. Another van der Keijl bucket took it back to 15, 69-54, to end the quarter. The Lobos outscored the Spartans 29-9 in the third quarter.
The teams again traded baskets to start the fourth, neither team finding the basket until nearly a minute and a half into the frame when junior Myzhanique Ladd scored a layup to make it 69-56, UNM. New Mexico entered the final two minutes of the game up by 18 points but SJSU went on an 8-0 run to close the quarter for the eventual 10-point Lobo victory, 82-72.
Overall, the Lobos shot 47.7 percent from the field to SJSU’s 33.0 percent to claim the win while also outscoring the Spartans 52-32 in the paint. The Lobos, however, posted 17 turnovers to just 13 for SJSU and were outrebounded 55-40. UNM is just 2-8 on the season when being outrebounded by its opponent, 2-3 in Mountain West play.
In addition, the Lobos took full advantage of their time at the free-throw line, sinking 17-of-21 shots from the stripe. Conversely, UNM allowed the Spartans just 10 trips to the line of which they made eight as both teams tallied near 80 percent. Defensively, UNM held the Spartans’ top scorer, Dezz Ramos, who averages 22.0 points per game to just 14 points on the day.
UNM returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 8 when the Lobos host Air Force in a 7 p.m. matchup at WisePies Arena – The Pit.