ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team fell 78-69 in the final of the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament to Duquesne on Saturday in WisePies Arena.
Senior Khadijah Shumpert led the squad with a career-high 23 points. She went 7-for-15 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free throw line. She also brought down six boards to go along with two steals in 32 minutes of play.
Redshirt junior Whitney Johnson was second on the team in scoring with a season-high 11. She went 5-for-10 from the field. Cherise Beynon and Jaisa Nunn each had 10 points and a combined 16 rebounds.
The Lobos got off to a rough start, as they did not put points on the board until the 7:34 mark in the first. Beynon made the first five points but the Lobos had trouble stopping Duquesne’s April Robinson as she was 2-for-3 from downtown and eventually went off for 34 points.
The Lobos took their first lead, 12-10 with 1:23 left in the quarter after a trey from freshman Jannon Otto. One free throw from Johnson and a good layup from Nunn capped the scoring for the Lobos in the first but Robinson gave the Dukes the extra boost as they led 16-15 heading into the second.
Robinson opened the second with a three but Beynon retaliated right back with one beyond the arch. The Lobos began to fall behind, with their largest deficit of 11 with 4:28 to go but a final half surge came as the Lobos went on an 11-2 run to finish out the quarter, trailing by just four, 37-33. Shumpert picked up eight of those 11 points.
Johnson gave the Lobos a boost in the start of the second half, scoring eight points in the first two and half minutes into the half to tie the Dukes 41-41. The two teams began to go point-for-point and the Lobos defense held Robinson to no treys in the third quarter.
Laneah Bryan hit a last second long two to give the Lobos a 51-49 lead over the Dukes heading into the final period of the game.
Shumpert started off with a possible three-point play after being fouled on a made layup but the free throw didn’t fall. The Lobos and the Dukes began to trade points once again before Robinson took the Dukes on a run, hitting three treys in the final two and half minutes.
The Lobos shot 36.8 percent (25-68) from the field, 21.4 percent (3-14) from three-point range and 72.7 percent from the free throw line. The Lobos tallied 13 assists to go along with eight steals and a total of 41 rebounds.
Duquesne was 45.5 percent (30-66) from the field, 35.5 percent (11-31) from three-point range and 50 percent (7-14) from the charity stripe.
It was even inside the paint as both teams scored 34 down low but the Lobos’ bench outscored the Dukes’ bench 28-8.
The Lobos will be on the road the next two games, heading to UTEP on Dec. 2 and SMU on Dec. 5. The Lobos will return to WisePies Arena on Dec. 12 for their match up with Pepperdine. For tickets, visit GoLobos.com or call 925-LOBO.
All-Tournament Team
MVP – April Robinson (Duquesne)
Emilie Gronas (Duquesne)
Amadea Szamosi (Duquesne)
Khadijah Shumpert (New Mexico)
Ashleigh Munns (Southern Utah)
Aprill Mcrae (North Carolina A&T)