Lobos and Sooners square off in Nike N7 game
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| NEW MEXICO LOBOS 3-1 (0-0 MW) |
OKLAHOMA SOONERS 2-3 (0-0 BIg 12) |
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Wednesday, November 28 | 7 p.m. |
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Tipping Off
Fresh off of passing their first road test of the season with an 89-84 double overtime win at Houston, the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team is set to open a three-game home-stand over the next 10 days. The first of those will be a highly-anticipated game against Oklahoma on Wednesday, November 28. The Sooners will be the second Power 5 Conference opponent this season to come and play against the Lobos at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit. Wednesday’s game not only features a top-flight opponent, it also doubles as UNM’s Nike N7 game. Nike N7 is a long-time commitment and mission to inspire and enable two million Native American and Aboriginal youth in
North America to participate in sport and physical activity. As part of the N7, UNM will be auctioning off game-worn turquoise accented jerseys with the proceeds benefiting the NB3 Foundation and UNM American Indian Student Services This will be the 13th meeting all-time between the Lobos and the Sooners with Oklahoma holding a 10-2 advantage in the series. The two teams played last year in Norman and in that game OU handed the Lobos their first loss of the season
3-x-1
In UNM’s road game at Houston, redshirt junior point guard Aisia Robertson did something only three other Lobo women’s basketball players have done, and that’s post a triple-double in a game. It was the seventh overall in program history and the first in the career of Robertson. Former players Cherise Beynon (3 times), Carol Moreland (twice) and Jean Rostermundt account for the other six
instances.
Double OT Victory
The win for the Lobos in double overtime against Houston was the first for the Lobos since 2010 when they beat Cal, 65-54, on November 20 of that year.
Doubling Down
Senior center Jaisa Nunn and redshirt junior point guard Aisia Robertson each recorded double-doubles in the Lobos game against Hartford. Nunn had the traditional point-rebound double-double with
32 points-11 rebounds. Robertson’s double-double was the point-assist variety with 10 points and 12 assists.
MW Player(s) of the Week
The Lobos have posted consecutive wins, and in each game have seen some great individual performances that have resulted in back-to-back Mountain West Player of the Week honors.
Jaisa Nunn was first to earn MW Player of the Week as she had a monster double-double in UNM’s 72-65 win over Hartford. In that game, Nunn scored 32 points and hauled in 11 rebounds.
A week later, Aisia Robertson matched that double-double and even added to it by posting a triple-double in the Lobos’ 89-84 double OT win at Houston. In that game, Robertson scored 28 points and had 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Everett’s Exciting Game
In just her second career college game, Jayla Everett showcased a glimpse at what might be an exciting career as a Lobo. In the game against Auburn, Everett scored a game-high 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting overall from floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. All but one of her field goal attempts in the game came from long range as she was 7-of-10 from deep and even started the game 5-of-5. The seven 3-pointers were the second-most in a game by a Lobo in program history.
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 14th with 1,111 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.
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 405-205 at home all-time, a winning percentage of .664 heading into the 2018-19 season. This year, they are 2-1 at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit.
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.