The Lobo women’s basketball team went 2-0 during their exhibition season, winning games against two Division II schools in Fort Lewis (101-48) and Eastern New Mexico (89-70). The Lobos will officially kick off the Coach Mike Bradbury era Saturday afternoon against Fairleigh Dickinson. While there is little that we can take away from the first two exhibitions, we can look at the numbers each player had last season and try to guess what kind of growth we could see in each player. It will be difficult to see what the impact of Coach Bradbury’s system will be on each player, since his system is completely different to what Coach Sanchez ran, so each stat should be taken with a grain of salt.
Coach Mike Bradbury:
Coach Bradbury enters his first season at the helm of the Lobo women’s basketball program after spending the last six seasons at Wright State where he went 119-66. Prior to Wright State, he led the Morehead State program for three years, going 50-44 and taking that program to a new level. So, between his two stops, he’s gone 169-110 overall. One thing that is evident in the style of offense that Coach Bradbury is going to run is that it is a very up-tempo style that will adjust with his personal. This season will have a huge learning curve with a new style of play and a roster that is in flux. However, even as they’re getting used to the new style, it will be fun to watch this team play a fun brand of basketball as well as seeing them grow as a team.
Coach Bradbury is taking over a team that went 17-15 overall last year and 9-9 in conference play. I think that a similar record is very possible this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them join the top tier of the conference if they get great play from a few players. While we don’t know how much of a difference Coach Bradbury will have on the Lobos in his first year, it’s worth looking at the difference in stats between the Lobos last year and Wright State. While this doesn’t give us a full picture it can help understand the difference in style of play.
| Lobos | Wright State | |
| Points Per Game | 61.3 | 75.9 |
| Points Allowed Per Game | 57.6 | 65.6 |
| Rebounds | 39.2 | 46.1 |
| Rebound Differential | 3.3 | 6.7 |
| Assists Per Game | 13.5 | 13.9 |
| Turnovers Per Game | 14.6 | 14 |
| Steals Per Game | 8.8 | 7.3 |
| Blocks Per Game | 2.9 | 4.0 |
| Field Goal % | 37.7% | 41.6% |
| Free Throw % | 65.1% | 63.3% |
| 3 Point % | 27.7% | 30.2% |
| Field Goal M/A Per Game | 22.66/60.16 | 29.24/70.26 |
| Free Throw M/A Per Game | 11.75/18.06 | 13.47/21.29 |
| 3 Point M/A Per Game | 4.28/15.44 | 6.15/20.32 |
As we can see Wright State under Coach Bradbury played a much faster brand of basketball and his team was able to take care of the ball a lot better than the Lobos at a much slower pace.
Guards/Wings:
This year’s roster has five returning guards/wings to this team. They do have a transfer, who has to sit out per NCAA rules, and they also bring in a very talented freshman that will get the chance to start this season. There are some question marks with this group of players, but there is some good talent here, including the possible conference player of the year.
Cherise Beynon: After a solid sophomore season, Beynon will look to take the next step and become one of the best players in the conference. One thing to watch with Beynon is if she can become more efficient from the field, if Beynon is able to get to 40+% from the field, we could see an 18+ ppg scoring average from Beynon. Look for Beynon to play a fair amount of lead guard this year, as the Lobo roster only has one true point guard on the team.
| Minutes Per Game | 31.5 |
| Points Per Game and Per40 | 12.3, 15.62 |
| Rebounds Per Game and Per40 | 4.9, 6.22 |
| Assists Per Game and Per40 | 3.28, 4,17 |
| Steals Per Game and Per40 | 1.97, 2.5 |
| Field Goal % | 32.4% (144-445) |
| 3 Point % | 36.0% (63-175) |
| Free Throw % | 67.7% (42-62) |
Alex Lapeyrolerie: If there was a player that I would pick that should benefit most from Coach Bradbury’s style of play, it would be Lapeyrolerie. The ultra-athletic off-guard will be able to play in transition a fair amount this season and will be given every opportunity to make an impact on this team. I am really excited to see what Laperyrolerie does with this opportunity.
| Minutes Per Game | 11.2 |
| Points Per Game and Per40 | 2.6, 9.15 |
| Rebounds Per Game and Per40 | 1.8, 6.43 |
| Assists Per Game and Per40 | .44, 1.54 |
| Steals Per Game and Per40 | .28, .99 |
| Field Goal % | 31.5% (35-111) |
| 3 Point % | 14.8% (8-54) |
| Free Throw % | 36.4% (4-11) |
Laneah Bryan: The lone point guard on this team and, for the time being, the starting point guard. The important things for Bryan will be taking care of the ball while pushing the tempo and the ability to hit open 3 pointers. If she is able to do those things, the coaching staff will be pleased.
| Minutes Per Game | 20.6 |
| Points Per Game and Per40 | 2.5, 4.85 |
| Rebounds Per Game and Per40 | 1.9, 3.69 |
| Assists Per Game and Per40 | 1.5, 2.91 |
| Steals Per Game and Per40 | .91, 1.77 |
| Field Goal % | 26.7% (20-75 |
| 3 Point % | 28.6% (12-42) |
| Free Throw % | 65.4% (17-26 |
Emily Lines: She showed a lot of promise as a freshman last year, which makes me think that she could see a huge jump in minutes and production. Lines is maybe the team’s best three-point shooter and if she is able to shoot at a high clip, she’ll be hard to keep off the court.
| Minutes Per Game | 5.9 |
| Points Per Game and Per40 | 2.3, 15.59 |
| Rebounds Per Game and Per40 | 1, 6.78 |
| Assists Per Game and Per40 | .42, 2.83 |
| Field Goal % | 43.2% (19-44) |
| 3 Point % | 42.9% (9-21) |
| Free Throw % | 47.4% (9-19) |
Jayda Bovero: She showed a great knack for rebounding during her sophomore season, and is a very capable defender. The question surrounding Bovero will be whether or not she can become a consistent contributor on the offensive end.
| Minutes Per Game | 11.8 |
| Points Per Game and Per40 | 1.8, 6.1 |
| Rebounds Per Game and Per40 | 2.5, 8.48 |
| Assists Per Game and Per40 | .63, 2.12 |
| Steals Per Game and Per40 | .41, 1.38 |
| Field Goal % | 29.7% (19-64) |
| 3 Point % | 16.7% (3-18) |
| Free Throw % | 57.7% (15-26) |
Mykiel Burleson: Burleson is a talented freshman from the Austin-area town of Pflugerville, Texas who has earned the chance to start as a true freshman from the start of the season. We could be watching the start of a very special career here, and with the up-tempo style of play, it wouldn’t surprise me if Burleson ends up scoring over 2,000 points in her career. It may take time for Burleson to become a 15+ point scorer, but it will be great to watch her growth throughout the year.
Forwards/Posts
It will be an interesting season for the forwards and posts on this year’s roster, with only two returning front court players returning, a grad transfer from Wright State who played for Coach Bradbury, a transfer sitting out per NCAA rules, and two talented freshmen who will take time to develop. The coaching staff will have some decisions to make with the five players that are able to play this year, with two true centers and a true post player being the top three front court players. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a fair amount of 4 guard lineups this season.
Jaisa Nunn: Nunn had a very solid freshman season that was slowed down when she was forced to miss time due to injury. After concentrating on conditioning and jump shot this summer, I really look for her to have a huge sophomore year. While she hasn’t started the first two games, she could end up starting by the end of the year and will be the first person of the bench when she doesn’t start.
| Minutes Per Game | 18.1 |
| Points Per Game and Per40 | 7.2, 15.91 |
| Rebounds Per Game and Per40 | 4.9, 10.83 |
| Assists Per Game and Per40 | .9, 1.99 |
| Steals Per Game and Per40 | .43, .96 |
| Blocks Per Game and Per40 | .33, .74 |
| Field Goal % | 54.1% (93-172) |
| Free Throw % | 58.0% (29-50) |
Kianna Keller: Keller is a defensive-minded center who has started the first two exhibitions. She will mostly be expected to be the defensive presence down low next to van der Keijl, so if she is able to average between 5-7 points, the Lobos will be better off.
| Minutes Per Game | 12.9 |
| Points Per Game and Per40 | 1.2, 3.72 |
| Rebounds Per Game and Per40 | 1.8, 5.58 |
| Assists Per Game and Per40 | .34, 1.07 |
| Steals Per Game and Per40 | .31, .94 |
| Blocks Per Game and Per40 | .94, 2.91 |
| Field Goal % | 45.2% (14-31) |
| Free Throw % | 50.0% (11-22) |
Richelle van der Keijl: A talented grad transfer center who followed Coach Bradbury from Wright State, van der Keijl will give the Lobos one of the best post players in the conference. She will add some scoring down low and will make it tough for opponents to score inside. It is kind of strange that the player that we can take the most from their stats is a transfer that hasn’t played in a Lobo uniform before this season, but given she played in Bradbury’s system last year, her stats should be fairly translatable.
| Minutes Per Game | 28.2 |
| Points Per Game and Per40 | 9.5, 13.49 |
| Rebounds Per Game and Per40 | 8.6, 12.21 |
| Assists Per Game and Per40 | .66, .93 |
| Steals Per Game and Per40 | .23, .32 |
| Blocks Per Game and Per40 | 2.29,2.91 |
| Field Goal % | 55.0% (138-251) |
| Free Throw % | 59.4% (57-96 |
Hannah Sjerven: Sjerven is a talented freshman center from Otsego, Minnesota and will likely be the fourth post on this year’s team. She will be able to develop this and could add some great minutes by the end of the season. Sjerven will be able to learn from a couple of great defensive post players and a very talented offensive post.
Brittany Panetti: Panetti is a talented freshman who is a true three, but can play small-ball four. Minutes could be tough to come by this year, but Panetti could find a role on this team and see that role grow over the course of the year.
Up Next:
The Lobos open their regular season on Saturday afternoon against Fairleigh Dickinson. We will have a post before Saturday for our bold predictions and a non-conference schedule breakdown.