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Laneah Bryan shoots over Lauren Heard during the first half of Thursday night's third round WNIT game at Dreamstyle Arena-The Pit. TCU defeated the Lobos 81-72.

Laneah Bryan shoots over Lauren Heard during the first half of Thursday night's third round WNIT game at Dreamstyle Arena-The Pit. TCU defeated the Lobos 81-72.

Women's Basketball: Lobos' WNIT Run comes to an end with loss to TCU

As the clock wound down to zero, tears were shed. It wasn’t the way the Lobos hoped it would end.

University of New Mexico women’s basketball team saw its season come to a close Thursday night Dreamstyle Arena in an 81-72 loss to TCU in the third round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.

Early on, the Lobos appeared as though they might run away from TCU in a similar fashion to Tuesday night’s contest against Rice, as Tesha Buck went 3-for-4 from the field, including two three-pointers to lead the Lobos with eight points in the first quarter, as the Lobos jumped out to a 22-15 lead.

However, Cherise Beynon was in foul trouble early, as she picked up two personal fouls less than four minutes into the game before adding her third in the second quarter, forcing her to sit for the rest of the half, something that changes the complexion of the team.

“We played without one of our best players,” head coach Mike Bradbury said. “A lot changes, every time she’s not in the game. That’s why she plays 37 minutes a game. Our whole team is different — we’re worse defensively, we’re worse on offense…It made a big difference.”

Despite Beynon’s foul trouble, the Lobos were able to grow the lead to 14 points midway through the second quarter and appeared to be the better team, taking a seven-point lead into the half, 40-33. At the half, Buck and Beynon each had 11 points to lead all scorers.

But the third quarter, where the Lobos have struggled often this season, hurt them again.

TCU outscored the Lobos 16-29 in the third quarter. The Lobos didn’t help their own cause, committing four turnovers in the quarter, as the Horned Frogs stormed back to take the lead with three and a half minutes left in the third, taking a 62-56 lead into the final period.

“I think when put it on them (in the second quarter), it woke them up,” Beynon said. “The third quarter hasn’t always been our best quarter, I don’t think we responded well. We were able to go on a little run towards the end, but we just weren’t able to hit them back with the same intensity we had the first half.”

UNM was able to cut the lead to two, 69-71 with 3:09 remaining in the game, but the Lobos didn’t hit another field goal as TCU pulled away for a 81-72 win.

Not only was it the end of the Lobos’ season, it was the end of the careers of the four seniors on the Lobos’ roster.

Bradbury gave each of the three, Beynon, Buck and Laneah Bryan, the opportunity for individual recognition from the crowd for their efforts in a Lobo uniform. After the final whistle, the three players walked around the court, thanking the fans for their support, for the final time.

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“I was really emotional (walking around the court after the game),” Bryan said. “A lot of the fans were just saying, ‘Thank you for everything, thank you.’ That was just really amazing.”

Buck, a transfer who was in the program for two years but only eligible to play for one, quickly became a fan favorite during her time with the Lobos and wanted to thank everyone who had invested in the program.

“It has been a great ride the two years that I’ve been here, the year that I’ve been able to play,” Buck said. “The fans are amazing here. Thank you to everyone who put time into the program, and to the fans who put time into us.”

TCU will move on to the fourth round of the WNIT, traveling to face South Dakota, who defeated Michigan State.

Cameron Goeldner is a sports beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s soccer and softball but also contributes content for baseball, basketball, football and track and field. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter 
@goeldfinger.

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