UNM Thanksgiving Tournament
Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit
Friday
New Mexico vs. Wichita St., 7 p.m.; Illinois vs. UC Irvine, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday
New Mexico vs. UC Irvine, 2:30 p.m.; Wichita St. vs. Illinois, 12 p.m.
Sunday
New Mexico vs. Illinois, 2:30 p.m.; UC Irvine vs. Wichita St., 12 p.m.
Ticket special: $5 Lobo Level Tickets
UNM NOTES | ILLINOIS NOTES | UC IRVINE NOTES | WICHITA ST. NOTES
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The unbeaten University of New Mexico women’s basketball team looks to keep rolling as the Lobos host the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament this weekend, starting Friday at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit.
UNM (4-0) opens up against Wichita State (0-4) 7 p.m. Friday (Illinois and UC Irvine play at 4:30 p.m.) and follows it up with a matchups with UC Irvine 2-2) 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Illinois (3-2) 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Illinois takes on Wichita State noon Saturday while the Shockers take on UC Irvine noon Sunday.
The Lobos had a noteworthy week heading into this own tournament, beating No. 16 Marquette 88-87 Nov. 13 for its first victory over a ranked opponent since 2010, setting a school scoring record Wednesday in beating Northern New Mexico 107-66 Nov. 15 and capping the week with a win over in-state rival New Mexico State 86-75 on Sunday – with all games at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit.
In the Marquette win the Lobos got a career night from Jaisa Nunn as the junior set a Lobo record with 39 points to go along with 13 rebounds. She went 14-for-15 from the field and 11-for-12 from the free-throw line to help her surpass Yvonne McKinnon’s UNM record of 35 points set Feb. 19, 1992. Against Northern New Mexico, the Lobos saw all 13 players play at least 10 minutes while scoring 107 points, breaking the old school record of 106 set in 1979. Freshman Madi Washington paced four UNM players in double figures with 27 points – the second-most points by a player off the bench and tied for the sixth most points by a freshman in Lobo history. As for the win over the Aggies, UNM got a great all-around effort from Cherise Beynon as the senior had 27 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, six steals and just one turnover while Tesha Buck and Alex Lapeyrolerie added 17 points apiece.
SERIES HISTORY
WICHITA STATE (7 p.m. Friday): The Lobos are 2-0 all-time against Wichita State, last playing the Shockers Nov. 21, 1998 – a 71-57 victory in Albuquerque. The other meeting came the year before in Wichita with the Lobos winning 56-44.
UC IRVINE (2:30 p.m. Saturday): The Lobos are 1-0 against UC Irvine all-time with the teams’ lone meeting coming Nov. 15, 2010 – a 71-59 UNM victory over the Anteaters in Albuquerque.
ILLINOIS (2:30 p.m. Sunday): New Mexico is 0-2 all-time against Illinois, though the teams haven’t played each other in nearly 37 years and the two meeting came within 50 days of each other. The teams played Nov. 29, 1980, in Albuquerque with the Lobos falling 58-52 to the Fighting Illini. Two months later on Jan. 9, 1981, the teams played again in Albuquerque with the Lobos losing 84-61.
THE COACHES
The Lobos are led by head coach Mike Bradbury in his second season with UNM, his 11th season overall. Bradbury posts a career record of 197-130 and is 19-15 at the helm of the Lobos.
Illinois is coached by Nancy Fahey who is in her first season with the Fighting Illini and is 3-2 on the season. In her career, she is 737-134 in 32 seasons.
UC Irvine is led by second-year coach Tamara Inoue and she’s 7-28 overall.
Wichita State is coached by former UTEP coach Keitha Adams as she’s 0-4 in her first season with the Shockers and 411-250 in her 23 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
This weekend’s Lobo games (not the neutral site games) will be available to watch live on the Mountain West Network. Fans can also follow live via live stats (click here) or fans can also listen in on the radio. Josh Suchon and Lobo basketball alum Nikki Lobato will be on the call on 610 AM (click here to listen).