A late fourth quarter run, with seconds left on the clock, couldn’t help the Lobo women's basketball team overcome the Golden Gophers of Minnesota, as they fell 69-65.
The score didn't exactly reflect the play of New Mexico (3-5), as it took a resurgence of effort in the closing seconds to cut the margin to four points. As a team, the Lobos shot 27-of-78 from the field, about 35 percent.
Head coach Mike Bradbury wasn't impressed with the faulty shooting either. Bradbury, while praising the efforts of his team’s defense, condemned the lack of shooting that the Lobos produced.
“The one thing I'll say we did well — with as poorly as we shot it — we continued to defend them, and they are really, really good offensively,” Bradbury said. “I thought we defended them pretty good, I thought we rebounded pretty good, but we just couldn't make enough shots.”
Even with the Lobos’ defensive efforts, though, they couldn't stop the lethal shooters of Minnesota (6-3) in Gadiva Hubbard and Carlie Wagner. The two combined to drop six of their team’s nine made 3-pointers in the game.
The first quarter saw the Lobos lead by as much as seven over the Golden Gophers, mostly with the help of center Richelle van der Keijl. In the first quarter alone, van der Keijl had eight of the Lobos’ 19 points.
But, in something that’s starting to become a trend, UNM was not able to maintain its hot start. The quarter ended with Minnesota trimming the lead to five, and UNM leading 19-14.
In the second quarter, Whitney Tinjum of Minnesota exploded on the Lobos, making two key 3-pointers — all 10 of her points came in the second quarter. Her boost helped Minnesota grab a 37-34 halftime lead.
Lobo guard Jayda Bovero helped keep the Lobos close by making a pair of 3-pointers.
After halftime, Minnesota continued to increase the offensive intensity, outscoring the Lobos 25-16 to increase its lead to 62-50 entering the final quarter.
The Lobos trailed by as many as 14 points in the fourth frame, with five minutes left to play. But the defense forced key turnovers and the Lobos made shots late.
After a missed Minnesota layup, Lobo guard Alex Lapeyrolerie flew down the court to make a layup of her own, shortening the lead to only three points with 24 seconds left to play.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The Lobos’ comeback bid failed when they couldn't get a steal on the ensuing possession and were forced to foul. Minnesota nailed both free throw shots and took home the victory, 69-65.
Lobo guard Cherise Beynon scored 12 points in the game, but had difficulty shooting from the floor. She went 5-for-19 from the field and missed all nine of her attempts from beyond the arc.
One thing Beynon has continued to do well is create opportunities for her teammates — she had 14 assists to add to her 12-point performance, giving Beynon her third double-double of the season, good for second in the Mountain West.
Beynon wasn't too happy with her performance from beyond the arc, and even said that she believes her team could've taken home the win if she and the rest of her team could knock down shots when they mattered.
“We got good shots in the first half, and we came out really good in the first quarter,” Beynon said. “Myself, I just couldn't hit the open threes. And I feel that if we were able to hit those shots that were very open, I think we would've been more in the game and had a chance to win the game.”
Van der Keijl was solid again, scoring 16 points for the Lobos on 8-of-19 shooting from the field. She also had nine rebounds and two blocks.
Forward Kianna Keller was a threat defensively for the Lobos. Despite only scoring six points, Keller blocked three shots and had two steals.
The Lobos’ next game is on Sunday, another home game at WisePies Arena where they'll take on the University of Texas at El Paso. The start time is scheduled for 2 p.m. and it will be televised on the Mountain West Network.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women's basketball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
