ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team will move on to the championship round of the UNM Thanksgiving tournament tomorrow after claiming a 70-48 win over Southern Utah Friday evening in WisePies Arena.
“I really like where this team is at,” said head coach Yvonne Sanchez. “They are getting better every day and their effort is not questioned. Their synergy was 49 and they had 48 with about 2:05 left, but they held them at 48 which was good.”
The Lobos missed the first five shots of the game, but senior Khadijah Shumpert was able to get the Lobos going as she scored the first five points to tie the game up, including a three-point play with 5:41 to play in the first quarter. Sophomore Laneah Bryan sunk two free throws to give the Lobos the lead for good. Sophomores Kenya Pye and Cherise Beynon sunk back-to-back threes to cap a 6-0 run in the final two minutes of the first quarter, giving the Lobos a 21-10 lead.
Southern Utah began to makes its way back with free throws and some outside shots early in the second period but the Lobos defense kept the Thunderbirds from inside the paint and used an 8-0 run over a 2:21 span, getting buckets from Beynon, Jaisa Nunn, Whitney Johnson and Jannon Otto. The Lobos ended the first half with a 37-20 lead and did not allow the Thunderbirds a point inside the paint.
“It was definitely part of our scout,” said Shumpert. “…that they were a driving team and had a few girls who could shoot the threes, so it was a matter of keeping them from shooting those threes and keeping them from getting inside. That’s what we focused on and that’s what we did.”
The Lobos held the Thunderbirds to a scoring drought in the third as they did not score for the final 3:18 of the quarter. The Lobos got production from Alex Lapeyrolerie and Johnson and capped the quarter off with an 8-0 run.
UNM was in a little bit of a lull in the fourth quarter as the Thunderbirds started to hit the outside three. But the Lobos finished the game off at the free throw line making six total for their 16th straight victory in WisePies Arena.
Shumpert led the Lobos with 14 points, going 5-for-10 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Beynon was second on the team in scoring with 12, shooting 5-for-9 from the field and 2-for-5 from beyond the arch. Pye finished the game with six points, which ties her career high, and brought down a career-high four rebounds.
For the game, the Lobos shot 37.3 percent from the field and held the Thunderbirds to a 27.5 shooting percentage. The Lobos were 7-for-19 from 3-point range and 19-for-25 (76 percent) from the free throw line.
New Mexico outscored Southern Utah 30-4 in the paint, 27-8 off turnovers and 32-15 on bench points.
After a three-game winning streak, the Lobos are now 4-1 on the season and will look to win its first Thanksgiving Tournament championship since the 2008-09 season tomorrow. They will match up with Duquesne, who beat North Carolina A&T earlier Friday. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tickets are available at GoLobos.com.
“We haven’t won this tournament in a long time. We’ve had opportunities in the past and it just didn’t go our way. We have another opportunity against a very well-coached team, a very good team, but we have an opportunity. You have to protect home and we’ve got the greatest fans so it’s just fun playing in front of them.”