After a week off with Finals Week on campus, the New Mexico women’s basketball team beat Pepperdine 60-52 at WisePies Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Lobos (6-3) played an ugly game despite the win, shooting 17 of 34 from the free throw line as a team. They also committed a total of 17 turnovers.
Forward Khadijah Shumpert led the Lobos in scoring with 22 point and eight rebounds. She went 7 of 8 from the field, alongside her 8-of-12 free throw performance. The next best performance came from Cherise Beynon, who scored 8 points and had a total of 7 rebounds.
The Lobos held a 16-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Jannon Otto hit a 3-pointer and a long 2-pointer that was appeared to be the arc but later called back. Shumpert finished with seven point in the first quarter.
“Khadijah's big time,” UNM head coach Yvonne Sanchez said. “She really is the heart and soul of this team. She just puts our team on her back at times. She did tonight. SMU she got into a little bit of foul trouble and people stepped up, but we needed her tonight.”
The second quarter wasn't much different in terms of scoring, where the Lobos led Pepperdine 29-15 at the half. But foul trouble plagued the Lobos in the second quarter and beyond, where Shumpert had two fouls by the half.
Kianna Keller fouled out of the game in the final period, and the Lobos finished with 28 totalfouls.
Although there were many fouls, the Lobos played dominant defense. They held Pepperdine to 28 percent (15-of-59) shooting for the day, while the Lobos shot 40 percent (20-of-49).
Pepperdine didn't back off, though, and came out hot in the second half of play. The Wave put scored the Lobos in the third quarter 19-16 in hopes of a comeback. The score didn't show much, since the Lobos still led 45-34 at the end of the third.
The Lobos shot poorly from the free throw line, firing at 50 percent (17 of 34) for the game. Turnovers were high as well. The Lobos finished with 17 turnovers.
Overall, it was a sloppy performance for the Lobos. Sanchez recognized that but credits their performance to a week off and finals for the players.
“It obviously wasn't our finest hour,” said Sanchez. “It's just always tough during finals week and you just never know how teams are going to come out of it.”
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Shumpert wasn't fazed by the sloppy play of her team, but she said she's just happy they got the win.
“A win is a win,” Shumpert said. “I'll take it any way I can get it. I'm happy that we won. Yes, there are things we have to work on, but this is still the beginning.”
The Lobos’ next game is on Wednesday at Minnesota, where they play their last non-conference away game this season.
Matthew Narvaiz is a staff reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached on Twitter @RealMattNarvaiz
