ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team may be finding its groove again.
After dropping five of six following a 15-1 start to the season, the Lobos have won two in a row by a combined 63 points – including defeating San Jose State 92-62 Saturday afternoon in front of 5,400-plus at Dreamstyle Arena thanks to another strong defensive effort and balanced scoring.
The UNM (18-6, 6-5) victory avenged an earlier 95-86 loss to the Spartans (6-16, 3-8) in San Jose on Jan. 6 – the defeat that started the Lobos’ rough patch.
“Our kids have been great. They’ve never got down and never were going to throw in the towel when we went through that little mess,” UNM coach Mike Bradbury said. “They continued to work and I think some things are starting to pay off.”
.@UNMLoboWBB defeats San José State 92-62! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/3T4h3LKqxU
— New Mexico Lobos (@UNMLOBOS) February 3, 2018
The Lobos were led by Jaisa Nunn’s 30-point, 11-rebound effort – her 13th double-double (top 15 in the NCAA), her sixth game of at 20 points and 10 rebounds and her fourth game of at least 30 points and 10 rebounds. It’s the eighth time this season a Lobo has reached the 30-point mark (prior to this season, the Lobos had 20 30-point games all-time).
“It’s always the plan to throw it to her,” Bradbury said. “She made some great catches around the basket and did all the things she’s capable of doing and did them well. Again, Cherise, Tesha, Alex and others found her with some great passes.”
END OF 3Q | A nice pass from Lapeyrolerie to Nunn leads to a bucket as the Lobos lead SJSU 67-40 as we head to the fourth quarter. #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/8wZS2ss7Xd
— Lobo Women’s Basketball (@UNMLoboWBB) February 3, 2018
Much like the Lobos’ 80-47 win over Nevada on Wednesday, the Lobos on Saturday clamped down defensively in the second quarter to pull away from SJSU. UNM outscored the Spartans 22-6 in the second quarter (UNM allowed just four points in the second quarter against Nevada) to turn a 19-15 first-quarter advantage into a 41-21 lead at the half. The Spartans were held to 25.8 percent shooting in the first half (8-for-31), including 15.4 percent (2-for-13) in the second quarter.
“I think we dug down a lot better on defense and guarded them better in transition,” Nunn said. “We just played harder (than the last time we played them). … We switched a lot better and we talked. We just communicated – something that good teams do.”
UNM then used a 51-point second half to finish with the 30-point victory.
To go along with Nunn’s 30 points, Alex Lapeyrolerie had 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting from 3-point range, Laneah Bryan gave the Lobos a spark off the bench with 11 points with a trio of 3-pointers, Cherise Beynon had 10 points, seven assists and four rebounds while Tesha Buck had a solid all-around game with nine points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals in just 22 minutes due to foul trouble.
Overall, UNM shot 49.3 percent from the field, including going 12-for-31 from 3-point range (38.7 percent). The Lobos also committed just six turnovers against the Spartans on Saturday compared to 15 in the first meeting.
“The last time we played them we got a little out of control and had turnovers,” Bryan said. “We’ve just worked on it in practice and got it fixed for this game.”
4Q | Bryan goes behind the back then sets up Lines with a wrap-around pass to increase the Lobo lead over SJSU. #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/7cOykQtWRj
— Lobo Women’s Basketball (@UNMLoboWBB) February 3, 2018
San Jose State was led by Analyss Benally, who is from Shiprock, N.M., as she had 14 points while Taylor Turney had 13 points.
UNM returns to action 7 p.m. Wednesday when the Lobos hit the road to take on Boise State.