The Lobo women’s basketball team will be taking on out-of-conference opponent Fairleigh Dickinson this Saturday in its season home opener at WisePies Arena at 2 p.m.
Head coach Mike Bradbury expects the Lobos to play well in the team’s home opener, but also expects a challenge.
“They bring back three starters and they play a completely different style,” Bradbury said. “It'll be a test and we're looking forward to it.”
Fairleigh Dickinson, a Division I school out of the Northeast Conference, is coming off a losing season last year, when it posted an 11-21 record and went 8-10 in conference play.
The Knights’ tallest player, Lauren Francillon, stands at a height of 6’2.” Their frontcourt is undersized compared to the Lobos, which includes Richelle van der Keijl — a senior transfer from Wright State — who stands at 6’5” and Kianna Keller at 6’4.” The Knights only have one other player taller than six foot.
For the Knights, Brianna Williams — who started in 23 of 31 games played last year — returns as the team’s leader in both rebounds and points per game a season ago. She averaged 6.8 points last season to go along with 4.5 boards.
It will also be a homecoming of sorts for Knights’ guard Natalie Zamora, who made 10 starts last season. She graduated from St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque.
For the Lobos, guard Cherise Beynon — who led the team in steals, defensive rebounds and assists last year — should make her presence felt on Saturday afternoon. Although Beynon struggled from the field (2-for-14) in last weekend’s exhibition match against Eastern New Mexico, she still found ways to contribute, hitting 13 free throws on her way to an 18-point performance.
Keller also looks to make a splash for the Lobos this season, especially defensively. In her junior season last year, she led the team in blocks — tallying 30 on the season — even though she only started four games.
Guard Mykiel Burleson had solid play in both exhibition games and looks like she will pose a dual threat to opponents in the regular season. Burleson logged 14 points in the Lobos’ first exhibition match against Fort Lewis, then led the Lobos in scoring last weekend with 19 points against ENMU.
Bradbury reiterated how important defense will be for the Lobos this Saturday, but also wants his players to loosen up offensively.
“Defensively we've got to be able to guard the ball a little better than we have so far, and we've got to rebound,” said Bradbury. “Offensively we've got to just not be quite as hesitant as we've been, and we've got to kind of let it go.”
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But when Bradbury asked who would be starting for the Lobos this Saturday, he answered hesitantly: “We’re gonna try to start the same ones.”
The Lobos' starting five against ENMU consisted of Beynon, van der Keijl, Burleson, Keller and Laneah Bryan.
Signing day notes
Bradbury signed five women for the Lobos’ upcoming season. The signees include Jaedyn De La Cerda of Roswell, New Mexico, Antonia Anderson, Madison Washington, N’Dea Flye and Tatiana Wright.
When asked how coach Bradbury felt about the potential newcomers, he said it was one of his best signing classes he's ever had as a coach.
“We had signing day yesterday and that was really exciting,” said Bradbury. “You know, that class is as good a class as I've ever had in 26 years.”
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
