The Lobos evaded some potent offense and a near-comeback bid from Boise State to walk out of WisePies Arena victorious on Wednesday night.
Sophomore guard Alex Lapeyrolerie, who normally comes off the bench, got the start and made the most of her opportunity.
When the Broncos got within striking distance late, she sunk a huge mid-range jumper with less than a minute remaining. That shot, as well as some timely free throw shooting, helped seal the victory.
New Mexico (9-8, 5-2 MW) walked away with a 75-68 win to get back on the right side of .500 and strengthen its footing in the Mountain West conference, where the Lobos are third in the standings.
Boise State fell to .500 in conference play at 3-3, though it is still a healthy 13-4 overall.
Head coach Mike Bradbury felt that a shakeup in the starting lineup would be the Lobos’ best approach to beating Boise State, electing to sit usual starters Jayda Bovero and Kianna Keller for Lapeyrolerie and Jaisa Nunn. It proved to be an effective move.
“This is a team that scores, and scores a lot,” Bradbury said, referring to Boise State. “So we just felt like today we had to get our five best offensive players out there.”
Lapeyrolerie finished with a team-high 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting, with three of those shots coming from behind the arc. She also hauled in seven rebounds.
Senior center Richelle van der Keijl also had a strong performance, as the Boise State defense failed to effectively double-team her or protect the high-post pass. She had 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while racking up eight rebounds on the night.
All five starters for the Lobos ended the night with double digit scoring. Nunn posted 14, and guards Mykiel Burleson and Cherise Beynon both tallied 11.
Beynon may have been below her normal scoring average, but she still nearly reached triple-double numbers. She pulled down 12 rebounds and finished just one assist shy of the achievement.
The first quarter started off with a layup from Boise State to get out to a quick 2-0 lead. But after a couple of missed shots by both teams, Lapeyrolerie drained her first of three 3-pointers on the night.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Boise State’s Yaiza Rodriguez hit a 3-point shot with 30 seconds left in the quarter to put her team up 19-18, but Lapeyrolerie stormed down the court and drained one of her own 3-pointers with three seconds left to give the Lobos the 21-19 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
It was all Lobos in the second quarter as the team put together three separate 7-0 runs. The Lobos outscored Boise State 23-11 in the second quarter to race out to a 14-point bulge, taking a 44-30 lead into halftime.
Boise State came out firing in the third quarter, narrowing the Lobos’ lead to eight points, 44-36, a little less than two minutes into the period. But despite Boise State’s efforts, the Lobos maintained a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair between the two teams. Boise State hit a layup 30 seconds into the quarter, trimming the Lobos’ lead to eight again.
Later in the final frame, the Broncos went on a 4-0 run to trim the score to 65-59 in favor of the Lobos. Both teams traded shots shortly after before BSU got within four, 69-65 with under a minute left.
Lapeyrolerie drilled a dagger with 51 seconds remaining to increase the margin to six.
Boise State’s Shalen Shaw hit a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left on the clock to trim the lead to three points, 71-68, but the Broncos were forced to foul, which put the Lobos in the bonus. From there, Beynon hit four consecutive free throws to give the Lobos the 75-68 win.
Lapeyrolerie was impressed with her team’s win, overall, and said that they are playing together as a team.
“You know we all played together as a team,” Lapeyrolerie said. “And when we play together as a team, everyone has their best game.”
As a team, the Lobos shot 41 percent from the field, while holding Boise State to only 31 percent shooting from the field.
The Lobos also outrebounded their opponent, bringing in 52 rebounds compared to Boise State’s 46.
A big factor in the Lobos win was scoring in the paint. 42 of the Lobos’ 75 points came from in the post, compared to just 22 from Boise State.
The Lobos’ next matchup comes on Saturday on the road against a Wyoming team that poses the best record in the Mountain West. The game will be streamed live at 2p.m. on the Mountain West Network.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women's basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
