We are here for the Regular Season Opener for The UNM Lobos Women’s Basketball Team as they face Lamar.
Category: Women’s Basketball
We’re Back!!! Lobo Lane’s 2018-2019 Year in Review
We’re Back!
Zach’s Reacts: Mountain West Quarterfinal vs. SDSU
In a game that looked like the Lobos (24-6) would be able to advance comfortably to face the winner of Wyoming and Utah State, SDSU Aztecs (14-17) had different plans, as they came back to win the game in overtime 70-61. There are plenty of things to talk and think about this game, which ended the Lobos hopes for a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Here are some of the observation and thoughts that I gathered from media row in the Thomas & Mack:
Zach’s Reacts: WBB vs. AFA
The Lobos moved to 11-1 and 1-0 in MW play with a convincing 78-57 win over AFA in the MW opener for both teams. It was an opening night in the MW that saw every single home team take home a win. While there is very little that we can take from a single night of MW play, but here are some of my reactions and thoughts from Wednesday’s action in The PIT and around the MW:
Zach’s Reacts: Lobos vs. Sac State
The Lobos extended their win streak to eight tonight with an 85-53 win over Sacramento State. The Lobos are now 9-1 and will look to close their non-conference schedule 11-1 with their games against Stephen F Austin (at home) and Long Beach State (on the road). There is plenty to talk about with this team right now, so here are my reactions from tonight’s game:
Corina Carter is a Lobo!
UNM Women’s Basketball got better today, as high school senior guard Corina Carter gave Coach Bradbury and the staff a verbal commitment while on her official visit this weekend. Carter, from San Antonio, TX, is ranked as a Top-100 player in the 2019 class and will help the team from day one in a Lobo uniform at either guard spot. The news is great for Bradbury and staff as it gives them their first high-level true point in their first few years at UNM.
Carter joins Autumn Watts (2019 post) in the Lobos’ 2019 class, as the Lobos have four scholarships open for the class with Nunn, Lines, McClure, and Moore graduating after the 2018-2019 season. This is a start to a great recruiting class that could very well be locked in November. The Lobos have also had 2019 Forward Azaria Robinson (Alaska) and 2019 wing Adriana Avent (Sacramento, CA) visit UNM on official visits and I would consider the Lobos the favorite for both players. Talent is coming to UNM and it is an exciting time for Coach Bradury and Co. Don’t sleep on this program on the rise.
MW Tournament Quarterfinal: UNM Lobos vs. WYO Cowgirls
Every Lobo game during the Mountain West Tournament I will be adding thoughts throughout/after the game in a blog post. This will be the first of this experiment, which should be fun to do. Let’s have fun.
Lobos have hit two threes already tonight, one by Flye and another by Bryan. If you read my preview I said the Lobos need to hit 10+ threes tonight.
There is a good sized crowd tonight for both Wyoming and New Mexico, should be a fun atmosphere all night.
3:06 1Q: Lobos 10 Wyoming 8. The pace so far tonight is in between what the Lobos and Cowgirls want, no decided advantage right now. The Lobos need to find Beynon and Nunn in the offense
There is The Microwave heating up with a 3. Madi Washington will be huge in this game.
Playing Nunn and AT together this game could be a game changer.
End of the first: Lobos 13 Wyoming 10. The first quarter was played at Wyoming pace but the Lobos end the quarter with a 3 point advantage.
Washington and AF are already putting their fingerprints on this game, and are trying to make me look smart.
Nunn starting to dominate the offensive glass, she has 6 points and 6 rebounds already tonight.
AT with another blocked shot, she is playing so well on defense.
4:12 2Q: Lobos 22 Wyoming 16. Nunn will have a 2 Free Throws after the media timeout, looking for her 7 and 8th point of the night to go along with 7 rebounds.
AT now has 5 points, 2 rebounds, 4 blocked shots. Thanks for making me look smart.
After playing at Wyoming’s pace in the first quarter the Lobos have been able to turn up the speed of the game with their defense and have outscored Wyoming 20-6 in the quarter.
This lead has been built with the Lobos defense.
Halftime: Lobos 33 Wyoming 18. Lobos were led by their defense and got 11 points and 8 rebounds from Nunn, 6 points from Washington and AT had a big first half with 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots. To build a 15 point lead at the half against this Wyoming team is very impressive.
Lobos did a great job of limiting MW Player of the Year Liv Roberts impact, holding her to 4 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assists in the first half.
7:16 3Q: Lobos 33 Wyoming 25. Lobos have come out flat in the 3rd quarter and Wyoming has taken advantage and has started the half on a 7-0 run. Lobos need to find traction soon or this one could slip away.
4:49 3Q: Lobos 39 Wyoming 29. After getting the pace they way they like in the 2nd quarter the tide has turned in the 3rd as the Lobos have only scored 6 points so far this quarter. The tone of the game has shifted.
Wyoming has dominated the 3rd quarter so far outscoring the Lobos 20-9 with 2:16 left in the quarter.
End of 3 quarters: WYO 43 Lobos 42. Lobos lost their 15 points halftime lead and will have work to do to pull this one out. The Cowgirls won the third 25-9. The Lobo starters besides Nunn are 4 of 26 from the floor.
6:28 4Q: Wyoming 50 Lobos 45. Wyoming has outscored the Lobos 32-12 in the second half. The Lobos need to find a way to get Nunn the ball and turn the tide of the second half.
Lobos fall 69-66 and will wait for the fate to see if they will be playing more basketball. Lobos had great performances from Nunn, Washington and AT.
There will be questions that need to be asked about this game, the Lobos had their chances to win this game and have a golden opportunity to make it to the Championship game. I am surprised by the lack of minutes of AT in the second half and the inefficiency of Beynon, Buck, and Flye (combined 7 for 34). The game change in the third quarter when the Lobos shot 1 of 14 from the floor while Wyoming was 9 of 13 which lead to Wyoming turning a 15 deficit into a 1 point win.
Women’s Basketball MWC Tournament: UNM vs. Wyoming Preview
The sixth-seeded Lobos (23-9) advanced to the quarterfinals of the MW Tournament with a dominating win against SJSU last night and will take on the third-seeded Wyoming Cowgirls tonight. In the two meetings during the regular season, the Cowgirls went 2-0 with an 11-point win in Wyoming and a 1-point win in The PIT. As we have seen in the past, it can be very difficult to beat a team three times in one year and this time it could help the Lobos. In the first two meetings, Wyoming was able to control the pace of play (both games they were in the 60s) and keep the Lobos from finding separation in either game. There are some adjustments that the Lobos will be looking to make, finding ways to take every single little advantage to position themselves with a birth in the semifinals on Wednesday.
MW Women’s Basketball Conference Preview
The non-conference schedule is finished for the Lobos (12-1) and the second season, Mountain West play, begins on Tonight. The Lobos have started the season on fire with good wins over Marquette, Western Michigan, UTEP, NMSU (rivalry games x2), Lamar, Illinois and Navy. The only loss on the Lobos schedule was against a very good Oklahoma team when they were without Jaisa Nunn. After being picked 4th in the preseason poll, the Lobos have inserted themselves as the clear favorite to win the MW this season. Looking back at the preseason awards, the Lobos had the Preseason Player of the Year (Cherise Beynon), Newcomer of the Year (Tesha Buck), and Rookie of the Year (N’Dea Flye). All three players have a good shot of winning those awards, with Beynon’s most likely challengers being teammates in Nunn and Buck. You could make a case the Lobos have the 3 best players in the MW this season.
Women’s Basketball vs. Nevada Game Preview
The Lobos (10-9, 6-3) return home for a three-game home stand, starting Saturday night against a struggling Nevada (8-11, 2-6) squad. The Lobos won the first meeting in Reno 69-63, even without the services of Alex Lapeyrolerie. However, the other three guards did well filling in for her, combining for 53 points (Cherise Beynon 25, Mykiel Burleson 18 and Jayda Bovero 10). If the Lobos can take care of the ball better in this game (17 turnovers in the first meeting), they should be able to win this game going away.