Lobo trio net top individual league awards
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Hours ahead of the start of the Mountain West Women’s Basketball Tournament, the league announced its annual post-season awards and the University of New Mexico was well-represented with four total players receiving at least one accolade.
Of those, three were honored with an individual superlative award as Jaisa Nunn was named Player of the Year, Aisia Robertson-Newcomer of the Year and Jayla Everett-Freshman of the Year. Nike McClure was the fourth UNM representative on the post-season award list as she was named to the All-Defensive Team.
In addition to the individual superlative awards, Nunn and Robertson were named to the 10-player All-Mountain West Team with Robertson also being named to the All-Defensive team alongside McClure. Everett was an All-MW Honorable Mention Team selection as well as earning a spot on the All-Freshman Team.
The three All-MW honorees for the Lobos this season are the most since 2009-10. In being named MW Player of the Year, Nunn makes UNM history as she is the first player in program history to receive the league’s highest individual honor. Additionally, Robertson’s Newcomer of the Year award is the second-straight for the Lobos and sixth in program history. Everett’s Freshman of the Year award is also the first* in program history.
(* – the Freshman of the Year Award became a standalone MW award in 2007-08. Prior to that, freshmen were included in the Newcomer of the Year Award which was won by three Lobo freshman)
JAISA NUNN
For Nunn, this is her second-straight year on the All-MW team. The senior native of Kirkland, Wash. has enjoyed a tremendous senior campaign that currently has her averaging 17.0 ppg and 9.2 rpg while shooting an impressive 58% overall from the floor. Her points per game and rebounds per game currently rank second in the MW, while her field goal percentage tops the league. Named to the preseason Lisa Leslie Award Watch List for the best center in Division I, Nunn has been on a steady climb up the record books at UNM and within the MW.
At the end of her breakout junior season, Nunn became the 22nd player in UNM history to score 1,000 career points. By the competition of that season, Nunn had risen to 19th on the all-time scoring list. This season, Nunn has catapulted herself to 7th as she currently has 1,520 points.
On the rebounding front, Nunn is second all-time at UNM with 921 rebounds and is 61 rebounds shy of tying the program record. When she surpassed the 800-rebound mark, Nunn became one of three Lobos to have 1,000 career points and 800 career rebounds. When she hauled in her 900th rebound, Nunn stood alone as the only player to have 1,000 points and 900 rebounds in her career; a feat achieved by only five other players in MW history as well.
This season Nunn has scored in double figures in 26 of 29 games played and has scored 20 or more points 11 times with a season-high 32 points coming against Hartford. Nunn has also registered 14 double-doubles this season.
AISIA ROBERTSON
After transferring into the program from the University of Kansas ahead of the 2017-18 season, Robertson was finally eligible to play this season and she has made a tremendous impact on the team holding down the point guard position for all 29 regular season games.
A triple threat point guard, Robertson was second on the team and sixth in the MW in scoring at 14.3 ppg. The top assist distributor in the league, Robertson averaged 6.6 assists per game and totaled 192, which is fifth-most in a season at UNM. Having no fewer than four assists in a game in all but one game this season, Robertson seventh in the nation in both assists per game and total assists. On four occasions Robertson registered double-digit assists with a season-high and UNM single-game record 16 coming in a win against Oklahoma.
Defensively Robertson was one of the most tenacious defenders in the league and often sparked her own fastbreaks off steals or defensive rebounds. Totaling 68 steals, Robertson also topped the league in that category
JAYLA EVERETT
When Everett decided to go over 1,000 miles from her hometown of St. Louis, Mo. to play for UNM, Lobo fans were in for a Midwest treat. As a true freshman, Everett has played and started in all 29 games thus far for the Lobos. She is currently the third-leading scorer on the team and ranks ninth in the league. The top-scoring freshman in the MW at 14.0 ppg in league play, Everett has scored in double figures 21 times with four of those games being 20-plus point efforts.
Totaling 395 points to this point in her rooking season, Everett is currently third on the UNM Freshman scoring list and is 18 points shy of tying the program record of 413 points set by Yvonne McKinnon in the 1981-82 season.
A sharpshooter, Everett has made 58 three-pointers this season and is a 35% shooter from that range as well. From the charity stripe, Everett is one of the top free throw shooters in the league with an 81% success rate that ranks fourth in the MW.
NIKE McCLURE
McClure transferred to UNM from Washington State for her senior season and the all-around impact of the 6-3 native of Tenino, Wash. has been paramount to the success of the team this season. A majority of McClure’s impact has been felt on the defensive end of the court, especially as a rim protector.
At 6-3, McClure has length and athleticism that has helped shore up a defensive effort by the Lobos that has seen significant improvements in points allowed per game and defensive field goal percentage from a year ago. Another area of improvement for the Lobos defensively this year is a specialty of McClure, shot blocking.
Through 29 games, McClure leads the league with 65 total blocks and her 2.2 blocks per game are nearly a full block more than the next closest player in the MW. Nationally, McClure is ranked in the Top-32 in both total blocks and blocked shots per game and has helped place the Lobos in the Top-10 in the country in both categories as well.
In her very first game as a Lobo, McClure blocked six of UNM’s single-game record 16 shots against Texas State. Her personal season-high in blocks came against Oklahoma as she swatted nine shots from the Sooners.
