ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team tipped off the 2016 season with a dominant, 101-48 exhibition victory over visiting Fort Lewis on Tuesday night at WisePies Arena – The Pit in front of 4,443 fans.
“I thought we played with the right intensity and effort tonight,” head coach Mike Bradbury said. “There were going to be certain things that both teams did well throughout the night and I think this game gives us a chance to learn and work on ourselves in the future. Overall, I thought that we played well and that our discipline was good.”
Despite the game being only an exhibition match, the 100 points says a lot about the new Lobo offense. In UNM history, the Lobos have only scored more than 100 points eight times (in the regular-season). The last time UNM posted 100 points was during the regular season, on January 4, 2005 against Morgan State. The Lobos claimed a 101-22 victory in the game and it remains the largest win margin in New Mexico history.
“We’ve been practicing every day, trying to implement fast plays to see what is and isn’t effective in the game,” junior Cherise Beynon said. “I think it’s very exciting to put up that many points and see the crowd happy.”
Beynon paced the Lobo offense with 20 points, while also bringing down a team-high 12 rebounds. She added five assists and two steals in her 20 minutes on the court. Five Lobos scored in double figures on the night including Beynon, redshirt-junior Alex Lapeyrolerie (15), freshman Mykiel Burleson (14), senior Richelle van der Keijl (11) and sophomore Emily Lines (10). Lines led the Lobos in three-pointers as she finished 3-of-7 from behind the arc.
The Lobos kicked off the game on a 13-0 run, fueled by six points from Beynon, and never looked back. UNM couldn’t miss for the first five minutes of the game, sinking 12 baskets and free throws before missing a shot. The Lobos held the Skyhawks to just three points for almost the entire first quarter, before Fort Lewis put up four in the final 1:53 of the period.
In the second quarter, the Lobos continued to pound the basket, doubling the Skyhawks’ offensive performance, 27-13 to send the teams into the locker room 52-20.
The third period saw no change in New Mexico’s aggressive offense as the Lobos outscored Fort Lewis 24-15, led by sophomore Jaisa Nunn who went 3-for-3 from the field for six points. Fifteen points marked the most for the Skyhawks in a period as UNM limited Fort Lewis to just 13 more in the fourth. The Lobos went 8-for-15 from the field in the fourth, 3-for-4 from three, and added six more from the line for the final 101-48 total.
All three freshmen got their feet wet in the game, led by Burleson who started and accumulated 25 minutes on the floor – second most on the team. Burleson scored 14 points while going 6-for-9 from the stripe. Brittany Panetti tallied five points with four rebounds while Hannah Sjerven scored four points and collected five boards.
The Lobos scored 57 points in the paint to the Skyhawks’ seven and picked up 24 points off of turnovers. The Lobo bench came off to score 45 points while the Lobos also took advantage of fast-break opportunities, scoring 38.
UNM will finish exhibition play on Sunday, Nov. 6 when the Lobos host Eastern New Mexico at 2 p.m. at WisePies Arena – The Pit.