Thanks to travel and holidays, it has been a little while since we have checked in with the Lobos, who are currently sitting at 4-5 on the season. while the results have been uneven so far, there are many encouraging things to take from the first nine games of the season. The team will continue to have ups and downs all season, and will look great during some stretches and not so good during others. One thing that has been easy to see so far is how much faster the pace of play that the Lobos are playing at is compared to last year, which means that when the Lobos are hitting shots, they are able to build huge leads in a hurry.
Positive Trends:
- Richelle van der Keijl, Jaisa Nunn, and Kianna Keller have dominated inside for the Lobos, combining for 28.9 points, 26.3 rebounds, and 4 blocks a game. The Lobos should have the advantage in almost every game this season with these three players, and I expect to see Coach Bradbury make sure to get his post players involved early and often in every game.
- Lobos have also received great playmaking from Cherise Beynon, Alex Lapeyrolerie, and Mykiel Burleson, who are combining for 36.3 points, 14.4 rebounds, 10.89 assists and 3.22 steals. Beynon has been the star guard for the Lobos so far this season, and look for that to continue, but the contributions in scoring from Lapeyrolerie and Burleson has given the team a huge boost and is a sign of things to come.
- Lobos have been great in the first quarter this season, out-scoring opponents on average 18.3 – 13.67. I think a key to the good starts in games has to do with the pace the Lobos play at, which catches their opponents off guard.
- The Lobos have done a great job of playing defense without fouling, averaging only 13.89 fouls per game. This has limited opponent’s free throw attempts per game.
- Lobos have done a great job controlling the pace of the game, playing between 76-85 possessions per game in their games. While Coach Bradbury would like a more efficient offense, that will come with time.
Negative Trends:
- While the Lobos have done a great job of getting to the free throw line (21.22 Attempts), they are struggling when they get there, shooting only 56.5%.
- Aside from Lapeyrolerie 36.4% (20-55), the Lobos have struggled shooting from distance 25.89% (44-170). Due to the high volume of three point attempts the Lobos take, you have to wonder if Emily Lines will see more opportunities soon.
- Lobo guards have struggled from the field, as every guard is shooting under 34.2%. If the Lobo guards can make even a modest improvement and shoot even 38%, this offense will be extremely difficult to stop.
Team Stats:
Overall Stats:
| Lobos | Opponents | |
| Points Per Possession | .884 | .827 |
| Possessions Per Game | 79.67 | 78.89 |
| Points Per Game | 70.4 | 65.2 |
| Field Goal % | 38.9% (230/592) | 35.5% (225/633) |
| 3 Point % | 28.4% (64/225) | 30.1% (56/186) |
| Free Throw % | 56.5% (108/191) | 73.6% (81/110) |
| Field Goals Per Game | 25.56/65.78 | 25/70.33 |
| 3 Pointers Per Game | 7.11/25 | 6.22/20.67 |
| Free Throws Per Game | 12/21.22 | 9/12.22 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 48.2, +4 | 44.2 |
| Assists | 16 | 13.4 |
| Field Goals Attempted | 62.6% | 53.78% |
| Turnovers | 15.1, -2.2 | 12.9 |
| Turnover % | 18.9% | 16.35% |
| Steals | 6.2 | 7.3 |
| Blocks | 5 | 3.6 |
| Fouls Committed | 13.89 | 18.22 |
Scoring Per Quarter:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| Lobos | 18.30 (165) | 18.78 (169) | 17.00 (153) | 16.33 (147) |
| Opponents | 13.67 (123) | 17.44 (157) | 18.56 (167) | 15.56 (140) |
Key Player Stats:
- Richelle van der Keijl: 16 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.33 blocks, 61.4% Field Goal.
- Cherise Beynon: 14.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 8 assists, 1.78 steals.
- Alex Lapeyrolerie: 11.1 points, 2.3 rebounds.
- Mykiel Burleson: 10.4 points, 3.7 rebounds.
- Jaisa Nunn 9.8 points, 6.8 rebounds.
- Kianna Keller: 3.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.44 blocks.
Main Offensive Players Shots Per Game Breakdown:
| Field Goal Attempts | Field Goals Made | 3 Point Attempts | 3 Pointers Made | Free Throw Attempts | Free Throws Made | |
| van der Keijl | 11.22 | 6.89 | NA | NA | 4.44 | 2.22 |
| Beynon | 17.33 | 5.44 | 7.78 | 1.78 | 3.56 | 2.11 |
| Lapeyrolerie | 10.43 | 3.57 | 7.86 | 2.86 | 1.43 | 1.14 |
| Burleson | 10.22 | 3.44 | 4.78 | 1.22 | 3.89 | 2.33 |
| Nunn | 8.11 | 3.78 | 1 | .33 | 3.22 | 1.89 |
Players of the Game:
1= 3 points, 2= 2 points, 3= 1 point (Cumulative season points in parenthesis)
Fairleigh Dickenson: 1.) Lapeyrolerie (3), 2.) van der Keijl (2), 3.) Burleson (1)
NMSU: 1.) van der Keijl (5), 2.) Nunn (2), 3.) Lapeyrolerie (4)
Texas Tech: 1.) Burleson (4), 2.) Nunn (4), 3.) Keller (1)
Tulsa: 1.) van der Keijl (8), 2.) Beynon (2), 3.) Nunn (5)
Saint Joseph’s: 1.) Beynon (5), 2.) Nunn (7), 3.) van der Keijl (9)
NMSU: 1.) van der Keijl (12), 2.) Beynon (8), Burleson (6)
SMU: 1.) Beynon (11), 2.) Keller (3), 3.) Bovero (1)
Minnesota: 1.) Beynon (14), 2.) van der Keijl (14), 3.) Keller (4)
UTEP: 1.) Beynon (17), 1.) van der Keijl (17), 3.) Bovero (2)
It should come to no surprise that van der Keijl and Beynon are tied for our Players of the Game lead this season. It will be interesting to see who ends up third on the list at the end of the year out of Nunn, Keller, Lapeyrolerie and Burleson.
Up Next:
The Lobos take on Eastern Illinois on Sunday afternoon at The Pit, which is their last home game before conference play begins.