Battle of the Rio Grande set for Saturday tip
 |
 |
| NEW MEXICO LOBOS 4-1 (0-0 MW) |
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES 4-1 (0-0 WAC) |
|
Saturday, December 1 | 2 p.m. |
|
Tipping Off
The first edition of the 2018-19 Rio Grande Rivalry tips off inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit on Saturday afternoon and the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team will enter the game riding high after a gritty 84-80 win this past Wednesday against Oklahoma. In that game against Oklahoma, the Lobos dominated in the third quarter and opened up a 14-point lead heading into the final quarter. OU would mount a comeback effort and pulled to within a point late in the fourth quarter, but the Lobos did not relinquish the lead as the secured the big non-conference win and moved to 4-1 on the season. New Mexico State will enter the game with a similar 4-1 overall record after handling Northern New Mexico, 101-51, this past Monday. A year ago, the Lobos claimed both meetings against the Aggies, winning 86-75 in Albuquerque and 101-93 in Las Cruses. Prior to that season sweep, NMSU had won four of five against UNM dating back to the 2014-15 season.
The game on Saturday statistically features a “something has gotta give” stat category as the Lobos are averaging 80.6 ppg as a team and the Aggies are limiting opponents to just 53.2 ppg offensively.
The Lobos have four players averaging double figures lead by Jaisa Nunn at 19.0 ppg. The Aggies on the other end have three in double figures and are led by Brooke Salas.
Hurst Sets Freshman Scoring Record
In just her fifth collegiate game and making her second start as a Lobo, true freshman Ahlise Hurst etched her name in the UNM women’s basketball record books against Oklahoma has he set a new freshman record for points in a game with 39. The previous record was 35 points by Yvonne McKinnon against Adams State in 1982.
Hurst, who had been averaging 5.8 ppg heading into the contest, heated up quickly as she surpassed her previous single-game high in scoring in just the first quarter as she had 12 points. For the game Hurst’s 39 points came on 14-of-24 shooting overall and 9-of-17 from three-point range.
Her nine three’s tied for the second-most makes from long distance in a game in school history.
Assists by Aisia
Through five games, redshirt junior Aisia Robertson has been an assist machine. With 56 total assists currently, Robertson has not had fewer than eight dimes in a game, and against Oklahoma, Robertson set a new single-game record with 16 assists. Her assists per game are currently tops in NCAA DI while her total assists are ranked second.
Block Party Hosted By McClure
Length and athleticism were projected to be a newfound strength of the 2018-19 Lobos and thus far, senior transfer Nike McClure has exemplified that on the court and is blocking shots at a high clip. In the season-opener against Texas State, McClure blocked six shots on her own as the Lobos would end the night with a new school-record 16. In her most-recent game, McClure swatted nine shot attempts by Oklahoma to set a new single-game high for herself as a Lobo. McClure’s 20 total blocked shots is currently fifth in DI, while her 4.0 blocks per game is first in the country.
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 Last Time It Happened (OPP)
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 vs. NMSU
Leading the Lobos for the third season entering the 2018-19 campaign, Mike Bradbury has squared off with in-state rival New Mexico State four times. In those games, Bradbury’s Lobos are 3-1 against the Aggies. The lone loss came on the road in his first season at UNM.
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).
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 13th with 1,123 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.
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 letter-winners 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 3-1 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.