ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After a slow start, the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team (1-0) kicked off its 2016-17 season under first-year head coach Mike Bradbury with an 83-56 victory over the visiting Knights of Fairleigh Dickinson (0-1). Junior Alex Lapeyrolerie led the Lobos with a career-high 21 points to pace four Lobos with double figures.
Lapeyrolerie missed just four shots from the floor in a career-high 27 minutes going 7-for-9 from the field and 6-of-8 from long range. Her six three-pointers ties her for third in New Mexico history in made threes in a single game.
“I thought from the beginning we played pretty hard,” Bradbury said. “We didn’t play great in those first five, six minutes, but once we got through that stretch I thought we played well on both ends and really rebounded the ball today.”
Despite the nervous offensive start for the mostly new Lobo roster, the UNM defense kept FDU idle for nearly the first seven minutes of the game in which the Knights missed 11 shots before finally getting on the board at 3:39 with a layup by Kiana Brown.
After the first-game jitters were gone, the Lobo offense exploded. Senior Richelle van der Keijl put up a career-high 20 points, surpassing her previous high of 19 which she achieved in her last two seasons at Wright State. She was followed by freshman Mykiel Burleson who sunk 14 points in her debut as a Lobo. Sophomore Emily Lines added 10 more for UNM.
Junior Cherise Beynon temporarily relinquished her post as the Lobos’ leading scorer on Saturday and instead tallied UNM’s only double-double with 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
“I thought (Cherise) played good,” Bradbury said. “She was our most aggressive player; she was our best defender. I thought she controlled the tempo of the game on both ends.”
In addition to the outstanding individual accomplishments on the afternoon, the Lobos netted 11 three-point shots. The last time UNM scored 10 threes was on Feb. 26, 2011 against TCU. The Lobos also got close to the most three-pointers scored in a single game in UNM history (15, Dec. 5, 2003 vs. Tennessee State; Feb. 1, 1996 vs. BYU).
UNM outscored FDU 15-10 in the first quarter and doubled the lead at the half, 33-23. The Lobos closed the first half making six of their last eight shots before the break while FDU was just 1-for-6. It was van der Keijl who led the Lobos in the second quarter, shooting her first 12 points in the frame.
In the second half, the Lobos continued to increase the lead despite FDU’s Natalie Zamora going 5-for-9 behind the arc on the day. Zamora, who hails from Albuquerque and used to play club ball with Lobo guard Laneah Bryan, led the Knights with 18 points.
The Lobos shot 45.3 percent from the field, 40.7 percent from three-point land and out-rebounded FDU 57-34 including 18 offensive rebounds for 21 second-chance points. The Lobos also dominated in the paint, scoring 34 points to FDU’s 20.
In keeping consistent with Bradbury’s fast-paced style, the Lobos accumulated 26 fast-break points to just six for FDU.
“I think this is a very exciting style of play and it’s fun,” Lapeyrolerie said. “I like this style, it’s fun, it’s exciting, not just for us but also for the fans to enjoy and watch for the next hour and a half to two hours for us to go at a very fast pace.”
The last time the Lobos scored 80 points in one game was on Nov. 24, 2015 when UNM put up 83 points against Nicholls State.
UNM will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 15 when it hosts New Mexico State University in the Rio Grande Rivalry and N7 game. The Lobos will be wearing turquoise jerseys in the game as turquoise is a color that represents harmony, friendship and fellowship in the Native American culture.