Lobos to face Missouri and #23/RV West Virginia in Cancun

NEW MEXICO LOBOS 5-0	MISSOURI TIGERS 2-4	#23/RV WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS 4-0
Thursday, November 28 | 2 p.m. (MT)    Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya | Cancun, Mexico LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO (Subscription Needed) | LISTEN LIVE | UNM NOTES | MIZZOU NOTES Friday, November 29 | 2 p.m. (MT)    Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya | Cancun, Mexico LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO (Subscription Needed) | LISTEN LIVE | UNM NOTES | WVU NOTES

Tipping Off
The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team is off to a 5-0 start this season and are preparing to face their toughest tests of the young season with a pair of games against Power 5 teams as part of the 2019 Cancun Challenge. Ahead of the Lobos in Cancun are the Missouri Tigers of the SEC and the West Virginia Mountaineers of the Big 12.

The Lobos will square off first against Missouri on Thanksgiving Day. The Tigers are off to a 2-4 start and are coming off a win in their most-recent game against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. Prior to that, the Tigers had dropped four-straight games. The Tigers have two players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by Amber Smith at 17.0 ppg. As a team, the Tigers are averaging 73.8 ppg.

A mere 24 hours after the tip-off against Missouri, the Lobos will be tipping off against West Virginia. The Mountaineers enter the Cancun Challenge ranked #23 in the Associated Press Poll and unbeaten at 4-0. The Mountaineers also have two players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by Kysre Gondrezick at 21.5 ppg. As a team, the Mountaineers are averaging 71.5 ppg on offense, but thus far their calling card has been their defense. Through four games, West Virginia has allowed just 42.3 ppg, ranking third in NCAA Division I.
 
Bigs coming up big at UTEP
Guard play has been a positive offensively for the Lobos early in the season as three of the top scorers on the team are guards with the lone exception being senior transfer Jordan Hosey. In the game against UTEP, the Lobos received a scoring boost from their forwards as Hosey, Bride Kennedy-Hopoate and Shaiquel McGruder all posted career highs in scoring. Hosey went for 19 points and hauled in 13 rebounds for her first double-double as a Lobo. Kennedy-Hopoate scored 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting overall (3-of-5 three-point) and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. McGruder chipped in 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting in 16 minutes of action.

Cleared for Takeoff
After having her redshirt junior season come to a premature end with an ACL injury in the Lobos’ regular season finale a year ago, reining Mountain West Newcomer of the Year Aisia Robertson has been fully medically cleared to play. The return of Robertson will be a welcomed one for the Lobos as she averaged 14.3 ppg, 6.6 apg and 5.1 rpg prior to her injury.

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 on November 17. 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.

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 25 three-pointers and is knocking them down at a 57% clip (25-of-44). In three 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 17.4 ppg and is second in the NCAA in three-pointers made.

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.

Double-Double Tracker
1. Antonia Anderson……….. 14 pts/11rebs……………. vs. NAU (11-8-19)
2. Jordan Hosey……………… 19 pts/13 reb………….. at UTEP (11-19-19)

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.
 

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.