ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team topped Nevada 51-47 on the road in its Mountain West opener Wednesday night in Lawlor Events Center. The Lobos are now 8-4 on the season and 1-0 in Mountain West action.
“I am proud of this team,” said head coach Yvonne Sanchez. “It is not easy winning on the road. I don’t care what the records are. We are lucky and fortunate to get out of here with a win.”
Sophomore guard Cherise Beynon and senior guard Bryce Owens combined for 27 points. Beynon led the Lobos with 14 points and six rebounds while Owens put together 13 points and a team-best seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Laneah Bryan finished with a career-high seven assists and five points.
“I can’t be more proud of Cherise, Bryce and Laneah and how they played.”
The game started off a little slow on both sides of the floor as neither team scored for the first three minutes of the game. Beynon opened the scoring for the Lobos at the 6:56 mark with a three. The Lobos defense held Nevada to a seven minute scoring drought. Nevada didn’t get a basket until three minutes left in the quarter but finish out the quarter with a last minute bucket to cut the Lobos lead to 11-7 going into the second period.
Once again, Beynon started off the second quarter with a three-pointer. The Lobos went up by as much as 10 with three minutes left to play in the half after a jumper from Bryan. But Nevada didn’t quit fighting as it went on a 6-0 run to finish out the half and cut the Lobo lead back to 23-17.
New Mexico started off the second half with more energy, coming out on a 6-0 run. The Lobos got four straight points from senior Khadijah Shumpert and a layup from Owens. Nevada did outscore the Lobos 14-12 but a last second jumper from Beynon helped the Lobos to a 35-31 lead heading into the final period.
The two teams went back and forth to start the final quarter. Nevada tied up the game with a three with 4:30 left to play. But the Lobos got two key layups from juniors Whitney Johnson and Kianna Keller for a 44-42 lead with 3:08 to play. Owens hit a three to go up four but Nevada sunk a jumper to cut the Lobo lead to 48-45. Nevada tried for three but missed with 17 seconds left which forced them to foul in the final seconds. Johnson and Owens both sunk their free throws to secure the victory.
“They played hard and I knew they would. It’s not a surprise. You can’t panic, you can’t get nervous, and you just have to go out there and play. I’m really proud of what our kids did.”
The Lobos shot 38 percent from the field, 31 percent from the three and 63 percent from the free throw line. They tallied 10 steals, eight assists and 36 rebounds.
The Lobos (8-4, 1-0 MW) will open home conference action Saturday, playing host to Fresno State. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be available on the Mountain West Network. For tickets, visit GoLobos.com or call 925-LOBO.