Open Announce

Women's hoops to take on UTEP in morning tip-off

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NEW MEXICO
LOBOS

4-0
UTEP
MINERS

3-0

Tuesday, November 19 | 11 a.m. (MT)   
Don Haskins Center | El Paso, Texas
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Tipping Off
The first and longest road trip of the season for the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team continues on Tuesday morning as the Lobos are set to take on UTEP in an 11 a.m. tip-off inside the historic Don Haskins Center.

The Lobos got their road trip off to a great start this past Sunday as they took down in-state rival New Mexico State University, 86-67. In that game, the Lobos overcame a 15-2 deficit at the 6:06 mark of the first quarter and eventually secured
their largest margin of victory of the young season by the final horn. Sharpshooters Jaedyn De La Cerda and Ahlise Hurst helped the Lobos flip the script as they both scored at least 20 points and combined to make all  1 of the Lobos’ three-pointers in the game.

Tuesday morning’s game features a pair of early unbeaten squads as the Lobos will enter with a 4-0 record and the Miners with a 3-0 record. Early in the season, the two teams have a pair of common opponents in New Mexico State and UC Riverside. The Lobos combined to out-score the Aggies and Highlanders by 29 while the Miners combined margin of victory was 19.

UTEP is averaging 72.7 ppg and have two players in double figures. Katarina Zec leads the team 17.3 ppg and is followed by Michelle Pruitt at 11.7 ppg. The Miners also have three other players averaging at least 7.7 ppg. 
 
De La Cerda is New Mexico True
There is something about when the Lobos play in-state rival New Mexico State in Las Cruces that brings the best out of Jaedyn De La Cerda. The Roswell, N.M. had another sensational scoring game against the Aggies in the Lobos’ 86-67 win this past Sunday afternoon. In the game, De La Cerda led all scorers with 26 points. In last year’s meeting at NMSU, De La Cerda scored what was a career-high 21 points. In her last two games on the road against the Aggies, De La Cerda is averaging 23.5 ppg.

Return to Don Haskins for Howell
After sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, Najala Howell is finally able to hit the hardwood for the Lobos and she has been an instant contributor. Having started in all four games thus far, Howell is the fourth-leading scorer at 11.3 pgg and also averaging 5.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, and 1.5 spg. Tuesday’s game will be an intriguing one for the DeSoto, Texas native as she transferred to UNM from UTEP, the Lobos’ opponent.

In her three seasons at UTEP, Howell played in 86 career games and averaged 7.5 ppg. In her final season as a Miner, Howell played and started in all 31 games and averaged 11.9 ppg.

Downtown from Down Under
In her freshman year, Ahlise Hurst showed flashes of being a weapon behind the arc, but lacked consistency as she shot 27% (49-of-183) from deep. This year, however, Hurst has got off to an incredibly efficient start as she has made 21 three-pointers and is knocking them down at a 58% clip (21-of-36). In three of four games this season, Hurst has made six three-pointers and has scored at least 20 points in those games as well. She is currently leading the team in scoring at 16.3 ppg.

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 four games, Anderson has nine blocks.

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.