Despite a late push, New Mexico couldn’t overcome a 20 of 70 shooting performance from the field to advance to the WBI semifinals. Head coach Yvonne Sanchez said her squad came out of the gates without a lot of confidence, which cost the Lobos another home win in postseason play.
The Lobos conclude their season with a 21-13 overall record.
“I thought we came out timid, for whatever reason,” Sanchez said. “We missed shots we wouldn’t normally miss. We missed assignments on defense... It’s a tough way to go out.”
Sanchez said she was proud of the way her team fought back despite being down by as many as nine points in the second half. Freshman Cherise Beynon, in particular had a standout game, collecting career highs with 16 points and 13 boards in the guard’s first double-double.
“Cherise is just a stud. That kid is just good,” Sanchez said. “She’s going to be good for a very long time.”
Sanchez said Beynon’s performance was the best she’s seen from the young guard. Although the freshman said she would have preferred an alternate outcome, the guard said she felt good from the floor on Monday night.
“I tried to give it all I had because I wanted to keep the season going,” Beynon said. “Nobody wants it to end, of course. But as long as I played my hardest and gave it all I had, then that’s the outcome I am going to have to live with.”
Beynon said the team’s performance from the free throw line was the most disappointing stat of the night. Despite shooting 31 attempts from the charity stripe, the Lobos only converted 19 times.
Even with a poor team performance from the line, Beynon had a key shot late for the Lobos, dropping a runner off the glass to give the Lobos a 60-59 advantage in the game’s final minute. However, miscommunication on defense allowed ORU freshman guard Jordan Doyle to hit a deep 3-pointer to push the Golden Eagles ahead 62-60 late.
“We usually win in those clutch situations,” Beynon said. “It was just a miscommunication or one of us thought she was going to drive.”
Senior Antiesha Brown attempted to answer back with a lob pass just out of the reach of junior forward Khadijah Shumpert, forcing the Lobos to foul at the end of the game. Down only two points with just over three seconds remaining in the game, freshman guard Laneah Bryan couldn’t get a shot up after weaving through the Golden Eagles’ defense.
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“That’s always been our forte, coming back in the second half and making it a nail biter,” Brown said. “Unfortunately we weren’t able to close this one out.”
One of the major thorns in UNM’s side was the 6-foot-7 center from Oral Roberts. The nation’s leading rebounder, Vicky McIntyre was forced to the bench early, collecting three fouls in the first half.
The Lobos’ offense appeared to be more fluid with the tall center on the bench, but McIntyre’s presence was still felt as she scored 15 points, collected 14 boards, and swatted away seven shots.
McIntyre eventually fouled out late in the game, but the Lobos couldn’t take advantage of the senior’s early departure.
“I would say it would be a huge factor except we’ve played big girls before,” Brown said. “... I don’t think that she altered us as much as people would have expected but it was nice for us that she got into foul trouble early.”
After her final game, Brown said the potential for the New Mexico program will reach the national stage again soon. Sanchez also said the Lobos are ready to take the next step in seasons to come.
“This group I had this year now has set a standard for what we want to do and that’s play in the postseason,” Sanchez said. “Now obviously the NCAA’s are first and foremost and that’s what we want to do. But this team has really set that standard.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is the assistant sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at assistantsports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
