Open Announce

Season-opening homestand comes to close with Houston

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NEW MEXICO
LOBOS

2-0
HOUSTON
COUGARS

1-1

Tuesday, November 12 | 7 p.m. (MT)   
Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit | Albuquerque, N.M.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEOLISTEN LIVE UNM NOTES | HOU NOTES

Tipping Off
The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team is set to closeout their season-opening three-game homestand on Tuesday night as they host the University of Houston inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit. 

The first two games of the homestand have been virtual mirrors of one another as the Lobos have fallen behind early, but rallied back for thrilling come-from-behind victories. The latest of those saw the Lobos overcome a 19-point first-quarter deficit against Northern Arizona.

While only two games into the season, the Lobos have not led after the first quarter, but have found their footing on both ends of the court not long after as they have also not trailed at the end of the third quarter in either contest.

Tuesday’s game with Houston is a return trip by the Cougars as the Lobos played on the road last season. That game ended up going into double overtime before the Lobos ultimately won 89-84. Also in that game, Aisia Robertson recorded a triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. It was just the sixth triple-double all-time at UNM.

The Cougars will enter the game with a 1-1 overall record and are coming off of a win in their most-recent game against Southeastern Louisiana.
 
Career Effort for Everett
A year ago in her true freshman campaign, Jayla Everett established herself as one of the top scorers in the Mountain West and that led to MW Freshman of the Year honors. Just two games into her sophomore season, Everett posted a new career-high in scoring as she went for 29 points against Northern Arizona. Everett’s previous career-high was 25 points, done against Auburn in the Lobos’ second game of the season a year ago.

Block Party Has a New Host
Last year there was a standing invitation for all Lobo Fans to attend a Block Party hosted by senior transfer Nike McClure. Individually, McClure led the MW and ranked 33rd nationally in blocks with 67 while the Lobos, as a team ranked seventh in NCAA in blocks with 190. This year it appears as though Antonia Anderson is taking over hosting duties for the block parties. Through two games, Anderson has seven blocks.

Bench Got Your Back
In a small sample-size, the bench has been a source of tremendous scoring for the Lobos. Through two games, the Lobos have scored 163 points total with 92 (56%) of those have come from the bench. In each of those games, the Lobos have had at last two players score in double figures from the bench.

Double-Double Tracker
1. Antonia Anderson……….. 14 pts/11rebs……………. vs. NAU (11-8-19)

20-20 vision for Winning
After posting a 24-7 record last season, the Lobos have won over 20 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2007-08 – 2008-09 campaigns. The 24 wins this past season were tied for the fifth-most in season in program history. Additionally, the 49 wins the past two seasons are the most since the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons.

By the Numbers 
Here is what is returning and missing for the 2019-20 Lobos.
 

Returning Lost % Returning
Points 1,542 795 .660
Rebounds 610 598 .505
Assists 404 82 .831
Blocks 92 98 .484
Steals 217 89 .709
3-Pointers 184 37 .833
Free Throws 248 162 .605

Freshman F(PH)enom
Jayla Everett burst onto the scene last season for the Lobos in her true freshman campaign. A native of St. Louis, Mo., Everett’s rookie year at UNM was one for the record books as she set a new program freshman single-season scoring record with her 417 points scored. Her instant success on the court was also recognized by the Mountain West as she was named the league’s Freshman of the Year. That plaudit was historic for Everett and the Lobos as she became the first player in program history to be named league Freshman of the Year.

Familiar Faces
Lobo fans will be treated to several familiar faces returning to the court that they can cheer for this coming season. The Lobos return six letterwinners from a year ago and all six played at least 26 games last year. Among those returners are: Antonia Anderson, Jaedyn De La Cerda, Jayla Everett, Ahlise Hurst, Shaiquel McGruder, and Aisia Robertson.  

Nothing new when it comes to newcomers
Transfer newcomers under head coach Mike Bradbury have been on a run of remarkable success in his time at UNM. In all three seasons thus far at UNM, Bradbury and the Lobos have possessed the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year. The trend started in 2016-17 when Richelle van der Keijl won the award following her transfer from Wright State. The following season, Latesha Buck garnered the award after transferring from UW-Green Bay. This past season, Kansas transfer Aisia Robertson took home the honor. Looking ahead, the trend very well may extend to a fourth-straight year with transfers Najala Howell, Bride Kennedy-Hopoate and Jordan Hosey all set to play significant minutes in 2019-20.

Ready To Play
After sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, Najala Howell and Bride Kennedy-Hopoate are set to make their official Lobo debuts in 2019-20. Both players with have one final season of eligibility and figure to play a significant role this coming season. Howell, a 5-10 guard transferred from UTEP where she was a three-year starter and averaged 7.5 points per game in 86 career games. Kennedy-Hopoate is transferring from Iowa State where she played one season and averaged 6.7 points per game and hauled in 4.2 rebounds per game. Prior to becoming a cyclone, Kennedy-Hopoate was rated as the No. 1 junior college prospect.

Newcomers to the fold
In addition to the six returning letterwinners from a year ago, the Lobos have bolstered their 2019-20 roster with the addition of eight newcomers. Five of the newcomers hail from the prep ranks and three via transfer. Of the transfers, two were in the program last year, but sat out due to NCAA transfer rules. Among the newcomers fresh to the program are: Andriana Avent, Corina Carter, Celine Dupont, Jordan Hosey, Azaria Robinson, Autumn Watts.

Lobos from near and far
The Lobo women’s basketball roster has a mixture of athletes from near and far on its 2019-20 roster. The Lobos have players from seven different states and three by way of the international route. The Lobos feature players from Alaska, California, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, and Texas. Additionally, the Lobos have a pair of players from “Down Under” in Australia and one hailing from The Netherlands.

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 421-207 at home all-time, a winning percentage of .670
heading into the 2019-20 season.