ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Sophomore guard Cherise Beynon and freshman forward Jaisa Nunn combined for 23 points but it wasn’t enough to outlast San Diego State as the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team fell short 51-46 to the Aztecs Saturday afternoon in WisePies Arena.
Beynon finished 4-for-14 from the field, 2-for-7 from the three and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. She picked up five rebounds, one assist and two steals. Nunn finished with a game-high nine rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal. She was 4-for-9 from the field and 2-for-3 from the free throw line.
It was a different starting lineup for the Lobos as sophomore Jayda Bovero and Nunn both made their first career starts to go along with the usual Beynon, Bryce Owens and Khadijah Shumpert. The new look gave the Lobos more energy in the first quarter as they came out with a 13-11 lead.
“We needed a better start and we got one,” said Sanchez “… I like this starting lineup so I’m going to continue to use it.”
UNM led in the first after a Beynon three and two free throws and a layup from Nunn to go up 7-6. Bovero put the Lobos up 9-6 but the Aztecs responded with a three with 5:10 left in the quarter. Shumpert game the Lobos a two-point lead with 4:41 left to play and the Lobo defense stepped up, holding SDSU to a 2:42 scoring drought. SDSU tied it up at 11 with 1:29 left to play but Alex Lapeyrolerie sank a two with 30 seconds left to end the quarter with a 13-11 lead.
New Mexico’s offense started to go cold in the second quarter as the Lobos shot just 4-for-13. Nunn scored the first points of the quarter at the 5:46 mark. The Lobos took a 21-22 lead with 1:13 left in the half after a put back from Nunn but the Aztecs responded with eight seconds left to retake the lead, 22-21 at halftime.
“We’ve struggled shooting for most of the conference play” said Sanchez. “We’ve worked on it and worked on it, but we just didn’t put the ball in the basket.”
SDSU opened up the third quarter on a 8-0 run but senior Alexa Chavez, who’s first game back was Wednesday after an injury, put together five straight points for the Lobos to bring the Lobos within four and force a SDSU timeout. Beynon followed the timeout with a free throw and a layup and Whitney Johnson tied the game up at 31-31 with 2:30 left in the quarter. The two teams went point-for-point for the next two minutes. Beynon hit a three to put the Lobos up 38-36 but the Aztecs responded with a three to end the quarter up by 39-38.
The Lobos hit another scoring drought in the fourth quarter. Beynon hit a two at 9:17 but the Lobos didn’t score until the 4:42 mark. Beynon’s two free throws at 1:56 put the Lobos within four but the Lobos offense wasn’t able to get anything going until the final 10 seconds when Owens hit a two but it was too late.
“I think we are scared to mess up,” said Beynon. “We are too focused on the mistakes and getting taken out that we aren’t focused on what we need to do in the game.”
New Mexico shot 30 percent (18-for-60) from the field, 12 percent (2-for-17) from the three and 80 percent (8-for-10) from the free throw line. The Lobos did out rebound the Aztecs 40-32, which included an 18-6 advantage on the offensive board category.
The Lobos are now 11-10 on the season and 4-6 in the Mountain West. They will look to its second home game in five days on Wednesday, as they host Utah State, who are 6-5 in conference and 11-11 overall. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be available on the Mountain West Network. For tickets, visit GoLobos.com or call (505) 925-LOBO.