The University of New Mexico women's basketball team will be hosting its annual Thanksgiving tournament, inviting four teams to compete at WisePies Arena.
The tournament opens with BYU (1-2) facing off against Saint Joseph’s (1-3) on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Lobos (2-1) play in the second game of the tournament against Tulsa (1-3) later that day at 7 p.m.
Tulsa enters Friday’s matchup with a losing record on the season and are winless against New Mexico in the series’ history. The Lobos have won all three of the previous games, most recently a 64-54 victory on March 2, 1998.
Tulsa returns two starters from their 2015-2016 season in guard Erika Wakefield and forward Tyjae’ Scales. Wakefield leads the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game — almost a full five points better than the next leading scorer.
The Lobos are coming off of a tough 69-58 loss to Texas Tech — a game that was close throughout, until the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. Guard Mykiel Burleson scored a career-high 22 points in that game.
Guard Alex Lapeyrolerie — who led the Lobos in scoring with over 20 points off the bench in each of the first two games — will look to rebound after coming back to Earth a bit against Texas Tech.
The Lobos should be able to rely on their size again, something that gave the squad an advantage in their first two games. Tulsa’s tallest player is 6-foot-2-inch forward Crystal Polk, and a probable starter according to a release.
The Lobos will have a significant height advantage in the post, as starters Kianna Keller and Richelle van der Keijl are 6-foot-4-inch and 6-foot-5-inch players.
Guard Cherise Beynon is still looking to find her shooting touch after being the second-highest scorer on the team last year. Through three games in this campaign, however, she has scored just a combined ten points in the first three games of the season, shooting a woeful 3-for-41 along the way.
But she has found ways to contribute by grabbing rebounds and dishing out assists. Beynon is still near double-double numbers, averaging 9.3 rebounds per game and 9.6 assists per game.
Other tournament teams
Brigham Young University and Saint Joseph’s will also be attending the Thanksgiving tournament hosted by UNM.
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BYU
BYU (1-2) is coming off of a seven-point loss to Oklahoma University, which is currently ranked 13th in the nation. Last year, the Cougars finished the season 26-7. The Cougars have two very good scorers in guard Cassie Broadhead, who averages a team-high 17 points per game, and guard Makenzi Pulpisher at 16 points per game.
Saint Joseph’s
Saint Joseph’s (1-3) is entering the thanksgiving tournament coming off of a win at Penn State 57-53, after losing their first three games of the season. Forward Adashia Franklyn leads the Hawks in scoring at 12.3 points per game and is pulling in about 7.5 rebounds per game.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter with the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women's basketball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
