Mountain West Tournament Notes | Season Statistics | Tournament Central
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It started with 11 straight wins. The next 11 we are little tougher to get, but the New Mexico Lobos, sitting at 22-9 on the season, enter the 2018 Mountain West Tournament as the No. 6 seed with the best overall record in the league. UNM will open play in the tournament looking for four wins in five days, starting Monday night at 8 p.m. Mountain Time against the No. 11 seed, San José State, at the Thomas and Mack Center.
UNM split the season with the Spartans, losing a high-scoring affair in San Jose 95-86 and then winning in a runaway at Dreamstyle Arena 92-62. The Lobos got a huge game both times from Jaisa Nunn, scoring 31 in the first matchup and then 30 in the second.
UNM’s 22 wins are tied for the eighth-most in school history, and just four away from the school record of 26. While the Lobos most likely need to win the Mountain West Tournament in order to get to the NCAAs, the Lobos should be a solid pick for postseason play. However, the goal in is four wins in five days and that starts on Monday night.
Lobo fans can listen to the game on UNM’s flagship for women’s basketball, 610 AM/94.5 FM with Josh Suchon on the call at 8 p.m. Mountain Time. Fans can watch the game on the Mountain West Network and via Watch Stadium. UNM’s path the final will require a lot of late nights. UNM will play the late game as long as its in the tournament.
Lobos Set 3-Point Record
The Lobos have hit 3-pointers at a rate no other UNM team has in program history as they’ve hit a program-record 277 this season, breaking the old record of 223 set in 2008-09), including hitting 145 during conference play – also a Lobo record.
UNM Sets Total Points Record
The 2017-18 Lobos are officially the best offensive in school history. The Lobos scored 54 points against Colorado State, giving the program 2,403 points on the season. The previous mark was 2,398 points that was set by the 2000-01 team and the 1978-79 team. The irony is the record was set in a 54-48 win over Colorado State, UNM’s lowest point total of the season.
UNM is now up to 2,496 points on the season after scoring 93 against Fresno State.
Double-Digit Issues … No Problem
The Lobos have found themselves down by double digits in eight games this year, and amazingly enough, UNM is 3-5 in those games. Here are the three wins, including UNM’s biggest comeback, a 17-point comeback against Fresno State.
Marquette trailed by 12 won 88-87
Nevada trailed by 12 won 72-68
Fresno State trailed by 17 won 93-89 (OT)
Beynon Breaks Single-season assist record
UNM senior Cherise Beynon broke Mandi Moore’s record of 212 assists (set in 2002-03) when she recorded 11 against Fresno State in the regular season finale. The 11 pushed her to 215 assists on the season.
Buck Sets UNM Single-Season 3-Point Record
Lobo senior Tesha Buck with her two 3-pointers against Wyoming on Feb. 21 set the UNM single-season 3-point record with 83 – passing Abby Garchek’s record of 82 set during the 1997-98 season. She currently has 89 on the season.
Lobos Reach 20 Wins for Second Time Since …
UNM’s victory over Utah State on Feb. 14 was the Lobos’ 20th win this season, the second time UNM has reached that mark since winning 25 games during the 2008-09 season and the 13th time in program history. For second-year Lobo coach Mike Bradbury, it’s the seventh time he’s reached 20 wins in 11 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
The 22 wins is tied for the eighth-most in school history.