Once the final buzzer blew, this year’s Lobo squad became the first in program history to collect 13 Mountain West wins. Head coach Yvonne Sanchez, whose contract is up for renewal, said she cannot take sole credit for the team’s success.
“I know a lot of times when good things happen, it’s easy to just see this head coach and put a bunch of praise on it,” Sanchez said. “This team has done everything we’ve asked them to do. They want to win and they want to play hard.”
The victory pulled UNM within a half-game of first-place Colorado State, which was idle on Saturday. The Lobos will finish in at least the top three with just one game remaining on the season.
Redshirt senior guard Antiesha Brown made her case to become an elite member of New Mexico women’s basketball history. She became the 19th member of UNM’s 1,000-point club after hitting a free throw early in the second half.
“It was a great moment, but it’s all the bigger picture,” Brown said. “I’d love to leave my stamp on the UNM history as the 19th person to reach that mark but, like I said before, we have such a special team this year that (winning the Mountain West Tournament) is the star in the sky we’re shooting for.”
New Mexico needed a lot more from Brown following her induction to the UNM history books, and Sanchez praised Brown for her efforts.
“We haven’t had someone like her in a long time in this program,” Sanchez said. “Being a local kid from New Mexico and doing what she’s done in the last two and a half years ... she deserves every good thing that comes to her.”
The game between the Lobos (17-11, 13-4 MW) and the Bulldogs had the feel of a contest with second-place implications. The scrappy and physical battle wasn’t decided until the final whistle.
UNM guard Cherise Beynon was a major contributor during the Lobos’ final home game of the season, collecting eight rebounds and tallying 12 points. Although the freshman acknowledged the magnitude of the game, she said the hunger for more does not end with UNM’s final game on Friday.
“It means a lot to come in and make a big impact as only a freshman,” Beynon said. “I just want to keep going on from here and go into the Mountain West Tournament and make history there as well.”
New Mexico jumped out to a 20-12 lead with 8:18 left in the first half. The early deficit didn’t discourage the Bulldogs (19-8, 11-5 MW), who came back to tie the game at 25. UNM hit a free throw in the half’s closing seconds and trotted into the locker room with only a 26-25 lead.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Neither team thereafter generated a larger lead than the Lobos’ eight-point advantage in the first half.
Fresno forward Alex Sheedy took control of the second half, collecting 13 of her 17 points in the latter portion of the contest. She led her squad to a five-point lead with just under nine minutes to play in the contest. That was plenty of time for Brown, who was also playing her final half in WisePies Arena.
“I knew at one point or another she was going to take over,” Sanchez said. “She wanted to take over, and I don’t blame her and I don’t blame (head coach) Jaime (White). I mean, that’s your best player.”
Brown went on a five-point run to tie the game single-handedly at 48-48 with 5:30 left on the game clock.
Brown collected six more points down the stretch, including a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe to collect the game-high 21 points. Brown said making free throws late in the game became a focus for her following two late misses in UNM’s tight 70-65 home-opening loss to Stanford on Nov. 24.
“I wanted to be the one to knock down those free throws and be the senior for my team,” Brown said. “I’m not going to say I choked in the Stanford game, but I was not as prepared or experienced as I am today.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is the assistant sports editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at assistantsports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE
