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| NEW MEXICO LOBOS |
LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN LADY CHAPS |
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Tuesday, October 30 | 7 p.m. |
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Tipping Off
Coming off of a breakout 2017-18 season in which the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team went 25-11 and advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the WNIT, which was hosted by UNM, excitement for the upcoming 2018-19 season is bursting at the seams. The Lobos only have one returning starter back in Jaisa Nunn, but a mix of returners and talented newcomers make up the 2018-19 Lobo women’s basketball team. While their regular season begins on November 9, the Lobos are set to play a pair of home exhibition games to prepare for that season slate. The first of those exhibitions will be played on Tuesday, October 30 against NCAA DII-affiliated Lubbock Christian .
The Lady Chaps will provide a quality opponent in the exhibition opener as they have been one of the top programs in the DII ranks over the last five years. In 2016, LCU went undefeated and won the DII National Championship. Last season, the Lady Chaps went 31-2 and lost in the Elite 8 to eventual national champion, Central Missouri. This past Sunday, LCU played SMU in an exhibition and beat the Mustangs 62-51. The win improved the Lady Chaps to 4-1 in exhibitions against DI opponents. Their exhibition loss came against UCONN in 2015.
Looking To Build off Last season
Last season was a breakout year for the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team under the direction of second-year head coach Mike Bradbury as the 2017-18 Lobos went 25-11. It was the only the second time in the last nine years that a UNM women’s basketball team won at least 20 games and the 25 wins tied for the second-most wins in a season in program history.
0 – 90+
Last season, the Lobos averaged 80.4 points per game to lead the Mountain West and rank 16th in DI. Prior to last year, the women’s basketball program at UNM had registered 37 games of scoring 90 or more points. In 2017-18 alone, the Lobos achieved that scoring feat 10 times and one three occasions went over the century mark.
Nunn Like her
Jaisa Nunn set herself apart from many of her counterparts last season as the rising senior was the lone player in the Mountain West to average a double (points/rebounds). In her junior campaign, Nunn was the team’s leading scorer and ranked second in the MW with 17.0 ppg while also topping the team and league in rebounds at 10.2 Already a 1,000-point career scorer, Nunn is within striking distance of becoming a 1,000-rebounder as well. The most rebounds in a career is 982 held by Carol Moreland. Nunn is already in the Top-10 all time at UNM, ranking 10th with 654.
Nunn Named to Lisa Leslie Watch List
Prior to the 2018-19 season tipoff, UNM senior Jaisa Nunn been named to the preseason watch list for the 2019 Lisa Leslie Award. Entering its second year and named after the three-time All-American and 1994 National Player of the Year, the Lisa Leslie Award recognizes the top centers in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball and is a part of the larger Naismith Starting 5, honoring the best players at each position. Nunn is among 20 to be on the initial watch list, and is one of two from the Mountain West.
Dialing Long Distance
The Lobos’ high-powered offense was spurred on last season by the 3-point shot. In that regard, UNM attempted the eighth-most 3-pointers in the country with 932 tries from long range. The Lobos
also buried them rather often as they made 319 to rank 11th in DI.
Young Talent Abound
Only one starter from the 2017-18 team returns this season for the Lobos, leaving a significant amount of playing time. While the Lobos do return seven letterwinners from last year, they also hauled in a highly-touted recruiting class that was ranked as high as No. 19 by ESPNW.Among that class, the Lobos inked four prospects that were rated at least 3-Star by ESPNW. The highest ranked among that incoming freshman class was Jayla Everett. The St. Louis native was ranked the No. 27 guard and 94th overall in the 2018 class. Outside of Everett, the Lobos will benefit from the services of fellow incoming freshmen Quincy Noble, Bre’Asiajah Mathews, Ahlise Hurst and Shaiquel McGruder.
Impact Transfers
In looking to replace the starters from last year, the Lobos also turned to transfers and added three DI transfers over the summer. New to the program are Nike McClure (Washington State), Najala Howell (UTEP), and Bride Kennedy-Hopoate (Iowa State). That trio joins Kansas-transfer Aisia Robertson, who will be eligible to play this season after sitting out last season. Only McClure will eligible to play this season as a graduate transfer while Kennedy-Hopoate and Howell will sit this season as Robertson did last year.
There’s No Place Like Home
Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit is nationally recognized as one of the top basketball venues for college basketball. Need proof?! How about Sports Illustrated ranking it as one of the Top-20 sporting venues, of any sport, in the world for the 20th century! Yes, The Pit is truly a special place, and it has created an unparalleled environment for the New Mexico women’s basketball program over
the years. The Lobos have led the Mountain West in attendance every year of the conference’s existence since the 1999-00 season. Additionally, during that same span, the program has ranked in the
Top-20 nationally in attendance in each of those years.
Wanna talk records?! The UNM women’s basketball team is an impressive 405-205 at home all-time, a winning percentage of .664 heading into the 2018-19 season.
Student-Athlete Spirit
Academic excellence has become the norm for the New Mexico women’s basketball. The Lobos are regularly taking home Mountain West Academic all-conference and Scholar-Athlete awards, but they shine in national academic rankings as well. For seven of the last 10 seasons, and nine of the last 13 seasons, UNM has finished in the WBCA’s Academic Top 25 rankings. This past season, outgoing senior Cherise Beynon earned the highest individual academic honor as she was the CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year for DI Women’s Basketball.
Lobos From Near and Far
The Lobo women’s basketball roster has a mixture of athletes from near and far on its 2018-19 roster. The Lobos have players from eight different states and two by way of the international route. The Lobos feature players from California, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas and Washington. Additionally, the Lobos have a pair of players from “Down Under” in Australia.