DALLAS, Texas – After suffering two straight losses, the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team regained winning momentum, holding off SMU 63-58 Saturday evening in Moody Coliseum, for its first road victory of the season.
“Those kids put their heart and soul into this game,” said head coach Yvonne Sanchez. “SMU is a good team. We came in and won this game with our heart. I like what everybody did. I thought this game was a team win.”
Cherise Beynon and Jaisa Nunn combined for 27 points to lead the Lobos. Beynon finished with 13 while Nunn finished with a team-high 14. Beynon was 5-for-15 from the field to go along with four assists and three rebounds. Nunn was 7-for-8 from the field with six rebounds.
The Lobos jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two layups and a free throw from Khadijah Shumpert, Beynon and Nunn. Solid defense held the Mustangs off from scoring for the first four and half minutes. SMU only scored six more points in the quarter before the Lobos held them off in the final 2:38 of the quarter, heading into the second with a 15-8 lead.
SMU started the second off with a 9-2 run to work its way back and tied the game up at 19-19 with 5:19 left in the half. The two teams traded points in the next couple minutes with the Lobos getting a couple of big treys from Kenya Pye and Beynon. But SMU went on a 9-0 run to take a 32-30 lead into halftime.
An 8-1 run started off the second half for UNM. Nunn and Beynon hit back-to-back layups to retake the lead for the rest of the way. The Lobo defense held SMU to another scoring drought in the third, giving the Lobos a 49-40 lead going into the final period.
The Lobos had another solid run to start the fourth period, going on a 7-3 run to go up 56-43. But SMU didn’t fall down easy as a couple of jumpers and three-pointers put them within five with 2:47 to play. The Lobos got their final bucket from Nunn with 1:46 to go. SMU had the next seven of nine positions but couldn’t get anything off.
New Mexico’s bench outscored SMU’s bench 27-9. The Lobos shot 40 percent from the field, 25 percent from the three and 60 percent from the free throw line. SMU shot 35 percent from the field, 28 percent from the three and 63 percent from the charity stripe.
The Lobos move to 5-3 on the season. They will have a week off from play and will play host to Pepperdine on Saturday, Dec. 12 in WisePies Arena. For tickets, call 925-LOBO.