ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico women’s basketball fell 69-65 in a hard-fought double overtime battle with Fresno State Saturday in WisePies Arena. The Lobos are now 8-5 on the season and 1-1 in Mountain West play. Fresno State moves to 6-7 on the season and 2-0 in conference action.
Khadijah Shumpert led all scorers with 23 points and 10 rebounds, her third double-double of the season. Cherise Beynon finished with a season-high 17 points and 10 rebounds, her first double-double of the season. Laneah Bryan played a team-high 45 minutes and finished with four rebounds and one steal.
The Lobos started out slow on the offensive side of the ball. They shot just 12 percent from the field in the first quarter, giving Fresno State a 15-7 lead. Beynon, Shumpert and Whitney Johnson were the only scorers for the Lobos.
The intensity started to pick up in the second quarter but still inconsistent shooting held back the Lobos. They did go on a 6-0 run to end the quarter which cut the Fresno State lead to 22-18 at half.
New Mexico regrouped in the locker room to come out in the second half with even more energy and intensity. Shumpert picked up the Lobos first six points of the third quarter to help the Lobos come within two. A layup from Beynon tied the game up for the first time with 7:24 left in the quarter. With 4:16 left in the quarter, Shumpert picked up back-to-back buckets to bring the Lobos within one. But a solid run for Fresno State finished out the quarter, leaving the Lobos trailing 40-33.
The Lobos knew they had to pick it up on offense in the final quarter to stay in the game. The Lobos held the Bulldogs to just six points and a 10-0 run in the last five minutes gave the Lobos another chance at them in overtime. The Lobos received key play from Johnson down low and Beynon tied up the game with a free throw with four seconds left to keep the Lobos alive to go into overtime.
The game went wire-to-wire in the first overtime period. Bryce Owens opened the period with a three to give the Lobos a 49-46 lead. Back-to-back two’s gave the Lobos their biggest lead of the game, 53-48, with 3:44 left in the period. Fresno State responded and tied the game up at the 2:01 mark. It went point-for-point the rest of the way but came down to free throws. Shumpert made five out of six in the final two minutes but a foul by Shumpert with 26 seconds left gave Fresno State two free throws to stay in the game. Both free throws were made to tie the game and for the first time since 2010, the Lobos were headed into double overtime.
he second overtime period started out with a jumper from Shumpert but she fouled at the 4:08 mark, giving Fresno State three shots at the charity stripe. It was the fifth foul for Shumpert which sent her to the bench. The game went back and forth once again with a tie ball game at 65-65 with 1:28 left to play after a Bryan clutch jumper. Fresno State went up by two with 37 seconds left but the Lobos couldn’t get any offense going in the final seconds. The Lobos tried to foul to regain possession but it was too late as two made free throws gave the Bulldogs the 69-65 victory.
The Lobos shot 30 percent for the game from the field, 14 percent from the three and 53 percent from the free throw line. They out-rebounded Fresno State 53-45. Each team finished with 10 steals and New Mexico forced the Bulldogs to 22 turnovers.
The Lobos (8-5, 1-1 MW) will have a bye next Wednesday. Their next stop will be a road game at Utah State on Saturday, Jan. 9. The Lobos will return home the following week, playing host to UNLV on Jan. 13. For tickets and more information, visit GoLobos.com or call 925-LOBO.