Open Announce

Lobo WBB Adds Four Guards for 2024-25

by Allison Weiss

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The Lobo women’s basketball program has added four guards to the 2024-25 roster, as announced by UNM head coach Mike Bradbury and staff.

Joining the Lobos for the upcoming season are Lilli Hakkarainen, Alyssa Hargrove, Drew Jordon and Nayli Padilla.

The new Lobos come to Albuquerque from Finland, Spain, Washington, DC and Ohio with Hargrove and Jordon having collegiate experience at Austin Peay State and Wagner, respectively.

On the four newest additions to the roster, Bradbury notes that Lilli is “another versatile guard who can make threes. She played at a high-competition level in Europe. We look forward to her getting here and her ability to shoot is something that we love about her game.

“Alyssa is a quick, athletic guard who has a lot of experience at the Division I level and we believe with that experience, she can truly help us this year.

“Drew is a multi-talented guard who can step out and make shots, but can also put in the floor. She has a chance to be an elite defender.

“Nayli is a big guard who can play multiple positions. She is very skilled offensively and her length will make her a great asset defensively.”

Lilli Hakkarainen | Guard | 5-7 | Kotka, Finland
Hakkarainen comes to UNM after spending the two past seasons with HBA-Märsky (Helsinki Basketball Academy) in the Naisten Korisliiga, which is the highest tier league in Finland. She was named team captain during the 2023-24 season and served as vice-captain the year prior, where she was selected the Player of the Year in the under 19 Girl’s Finnish Championships League in 2021-22.

In her most recent season with HBA-Märsky, Hakkarainen averaged 11.0 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, 1.8 assists per game and played 25:41 minutes per game.

Before her time with HBA-Märsky, she won the Women’s Finnish Championship and the Finnish Cup with Peli-Karhut in 2021-22 and played 37 games with the Youth Finnish National Team, where she averaged 4.5 points per game.

Hakkarainen attended Mäkelänrinne Upper Secondary School, where she graduated in 2024.

On why UNM: “The facilities for sports and studying are excellent.”

Alyssa Hargrove | Guard | 5-8 | Dayton, Ohio (Austin Peay State University)
Playing at APSU her junior season, Hargrove appeared in 32 games and averaged 20.0 minutes per game, 4.3 points per game, 2.3 rebounds per game, 1.0 steal per game and 1.5 assists per game.

The Ohio native scored a season-high 11 points against Eastern Kentucky on 4-4 shooting and made at least one three-pointer in 14 games with a season-high two at Kentucky. Overall, Hargrove shot 40.0% from the floor and 32.6% from three-point range. Defensively, she was credited with a steal in 18 games with consecutive games with five steals and multiple steals in eight games.

Prior to her time at Austin Peay State, Hargrove spent two seasons at Stetson, where she played in 40 games with 21 starts and averaged 8.6 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 1.7 assists per game, 1.4 steals per game in 26.9 minutes per game.

As a freshman, she started 15 of the 31 games she played in and averaged 8.0 points per game, shooting 40.3% from the floor, and averaged 3.8 rebounds per game, 1.5 assists per game and 1.4 steals per game. In her first collegiate game, she scored 21 points on 10-14 shooting, her first of 10 games finishing in double figures that season.

She followed that up with nine games and six starts as a sophomore, where she scored an average of 10.6 points per game, 2.3 assists per game and 2.6 rebounds per game.

Academically, Hargrove made Dean’s List as a sophomore at Stetson and academic all-district her junior year at Austin Peay State. She intends to major in organizational leadership at UNM.

On why UNM: “I chose UNM because the coaching staff is very welcoming, I feel like UNM is somewhere that I can grow and be pushed to be at my best and reach my potential. The culture and environment created at UNM is one of the many reasons why I chose to go here.”

Drew Jordon | Guard | 5-11 | Washington, DC (Wagner)
Jordon recently finished her freshman season at Wagner, where she appeared in all 28 games and made one start against Sacred Heart. During her freshman campaign, Jordon averaged 6.0 points per game, shooting 40.9% from the floor, and averaged 1.9 rebounds per game, while playing 16.3 minutes per game. She led Wagner with 54 made free throws, going 54-69 from the line to lead the Seahawks in free-throw percentage.

The Washington, DC native finished in double figures in four games, led by a season-high 17 points at LIU on 7-9 shooting. In addition, she recorded a steal in 14 games with three games with three steals and five games with multiple steals, as well as 10 games with a block that included a season-high two against Stonehill and finished third on the team with 11 blocks on the season.

A graduate of Bishop McNamara, Jordon was a two-year honorable mention performer along with being selected to the All-Star District Team. She also played on Team Curry Team Takeover at the club level.

Jordon intends to major in psychology at UNM.

On why UNM: “The opportunity to experience life in a new environment with immense academic and athletic standards is a true blessing and an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

Nayli Padilla | Guard | 5-11 | Barrio de La Salud, Spain
Padilla comes to UNM after playing for Tenerife Central, CB Santa Cruz, Spar Gran Canaria in Spain, and won championships in 2023, 2022 and 2021. She also was selected to the 2023 U18 Women’s European Championship in Turkey.

On why UNM: “I think that it is a great college. After seeing campus, it’s amazing and they have everything that I need for my dream career and playing basketball.”

The four round out the latest signings, joining Lydie Mwamba, Joana Magalhães, Destinee Hooks, Clarissa Craig, and Amhyia Moreland as offseason signings.