No Alex Lapeyrolerie, no problem.
The senior guard and 3-point sharpshooter missed her first game after tearing her ACL in her left leg, as first reported by the Albuquerque Journal’s Ken Sickenger, though the loss of her didn’t matter much when they played Utah State on the road on Wednesday evening.
The Lobos did, however, take home a 74-50 victory, driving in cruise control the majority of the game behind a stellar defensive effort and a steady stream of scoring.
In place of Lapeyrolerie in the starting lineup was senior guard Laneah Bryan, who tuned in and turned up in her second start this season, scoring 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, which tied for the most points in the game alongside senior guard Tesha Buck who also had 13 points. Buck, who’s known for being sharp from beyond the arc, was just 1-of-5 from that range but 5-of-12 overall, including making both of her free throw attempts.
Junior post Jaisa Nunn had 12 points as well as eight rebounds, while freshman guard Madi Washington came off the bench and scored 11 points, including going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
Senior guard Cherise Beynon contributed just two points, but fished out a game-high six assists as part of her efforts.
Utah State got on the board first, scoring on a jumper to go up 2-0 just 30 seconds into the game. But freshman guard N’Dea Flye quickly answered with a layup just moments later for the Lobos to tie the game up early on. After a layup from Bryan put UNM up 5-4 nearly three minutes into the frame, the Lobos didn’t look back, nor surrender a lead.
Entering the second quarter with a 16-8 advantage, UNM kept its high volume offense rolling. The Lobos surrendered a 3-pointer shortly before halftime, but still claimed a 33-19 advantage heading into the locker rooms.
The same continued in the third quarter, too: UNM getting its shots off, while the Aggies struggled to find their pace. By the end of the frame, the Lobos grabbed a 20-point lead, 48-28.
By the end of the game, UNM found itself claiming a 74-50 win on the road, marking the team’s second straight victory.
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“It feels good that we played 28 minutes of really good defense,” head coach Mike Bradbury said, according to a UNM press release. “That was really nice. We got a little sloppy over the last 12 minutes. This is a good win for us because they are tough to beat here.”
As a team, the Lobos shot 47.6 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3, while Utah State shot just 32.3 percent from the field.
UNM outrebounded the Aggies 44-30. The Lobos also forced 15 Utah State turnovers.
Up next for the Lobos is a game at home against Wyoming next Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.
Matthew Narvaiz is a senior sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
