Lobos host Auburn in quarterfinals of preseason WNIT
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| NEW MEXICO LOBOS 1-0 (0-0 MW) |
AUBURN TIGERS 2-0 (0-0 SEC) |
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Sunday, November 11 | 2 p.m. |
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Tipping Off
The long-awaited official beginning to the 2018-19 season for the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team has come and gone as the Lobos opened their season on Friday night. For Lobo fans, the wait was more than worth it as the Lobos treated the fans at Dreamstyle Arena to an impressive 82-51 win over Texas State in the opening round of the Preseason WNIT. As a result of that win over Texas State, the Lobos have advanced to the quarterfinal round of the WNIT and will host Auburn University of the Power 5 SEC on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
In their win against Texas State, UNM showcased a relentless defensive effort that saw the Lobos total 16 blocks – a new program single-game record, force 24 turnovers and hold the Bobcats under 30% shooting from the floor. Senior transfer Nike McClure was the catalyst of the blocking output as she registered six denials on her own. The Lobos also got a standout performance from redshirt junior Aisia Robertson as she neared a triple-double with 17 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists. Returning senior starter Jaisa Nunn was efficient once more scoring 14 points on 5-of-
7 shooting.
Auburn comes to Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit having won their first two games of the season. Offensively, the Tigers are averaging 88.5 points per game and boast an average scoring margin of +35.0
Bradbury and Season-Openers
With the 82-51 win over Texas State on Friday, head coach Mike Bradbury improved to 3-0 in season-openers while at the University of New Mexico. In his first season, UNM beat Fairleigh Dickinson 83-56, and last year, the Lobos upended Western Michigan 88-76.
Dominant Debut
The Lobos’ 31-point margin of victory over Texas State (82-51) in the season-opener was the largest defeat UNM has placed on an opponent in a season-opener since the 2008-09 season when the Lobos beat Alcorn State by 56 points (94-38).
Aisia All Over The Map
Redshirt junior Aisia Robertson had quite the debut for the Lobos. In her first collegiate action in over a year, the San Francisco, Calif. native flirted with a triple-double. Robertson would lead the team in scoring with 17 points while also dishing out nine assists and hauling in eight rebounds.
Block Party Hosted By McClure
Length and athleticism were projected to be a newfound strength of the 2018-19 Lobos and in the season-opener both were evident and led by Nike McClure. A senior transfer, McClure blocked six shots on her own as the Lobos would end the night with a new school-record 16.
Nunn’s Climb Up the All-Time Scoring List
Senior center Jaisa Nunn became the 22nd player in school history to score 1,000-career points at the end of her junior season. She ended that year 19th on the all-time scoring list. In her senior season, Nunn has the chance to climb the ranks even higher. She is currently 18th with 1,042 points.
Lobos Picked 5th in Preseason MW Poll
The Mountain West recently released its annual preseason predicted order of finish ahead of the 2018-19 women’s basketball season and UNM was picked fifth behind preseason favorite Boise State, UNLV, Fresno State and Wyoming. The Lobos were just eight points back of Wyoming as UNM garnered 150 points in the rankings.
Nunn Named Preseason All-MW
Senior center Jaisa Nunn continues to solicit a lot of preseason attention and deservedly so based off of her stellar junior season. The most-recent accolade to come Nunn’s way is inclusion on the 2018-19 Preseason All-Mountain West Team.
UNM and UCONN
In their first exhibition game of the season against NCAA Division II perennial power Lubbock Christian, the University of New Mexico did something to LCU that only one of the Division I women’s basketball team has done; that’s beat the Lady Chaps in an exhibition. Prior to the Lobos’ 62-55 win over Lubbock Christian, LCU was 4-1 all-time in exhibition games versus DI opponents with the lone loss coming at the hands of UCONN in 2015.
Unblemished in Exhibition games
The Lobos went 2-0 in their exhibition games ahead of the start of the 2018-19 season. The Lobos are now 6-0 under head coach Mike Bradbury in exhibition games.
Shaking Off First Game Jitters
While none of the stats count during exhibition games, there was marked improvement from the first exhibition game to the second for several newcomers for the Lobos. In the exhibition opener against Lubbock Christian, true freshmen, Jayla Everett, Ahlise Hurst, Bre’Asiajah Mathews, and Quincy Noble combined to score three (3) points on 1-of-23 shooting overall from the floor. In the second exhibition game, however, those same four combined to score 37 points on 14-of-21 shooting overall from the floor.
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.
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.
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’Asisajah 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 406-205 at home all-time.
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.