The UNM women's basketball team (1-0) cruised to an 83-56 victory over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (0-1) in its first game of the season, with the help of guard Alex Lapeyrolerie.
Lapeyrolerie — who came off of the bench — seemed to find the basket all night, especially from behind the arc where she went 6-for-8 on her way to a 21-point performance.
She went 7-for-9 from the field overall in a career-high 27 minutes, and sank her one free throw shot on the night. Her six treys tied Lapeyrolerie for third-most in a game in program history.
The outcome of the game was even more surprising considering guard Cherise Beynon’s shot-making performance — the team’s leader didn't score any points in her first regular season game, leaving many surprised. She shot 0-for-9 from the field while logging the most minutes of any Lobo with 28.
But Beynon still contributed with a double-double, picking up 13 rebounds and 10 assists on the night.
Head coach Mike Bradbury — who is now 1-0 in his tenure at UNM — praised Beynon for finding ways to make an impact.
“I thought she played good; she just didn't make a shot,” Bradbury said. “She was our most aggressive player, she was our best defender. I thought she controlled the tempo of the game on both ends.”
The first quarter started off slow for both teams. It took the Lobos almost two minutes to score, but they eventually took the lead off of Mykiel Burleson's 3-pointer and scored the first seven points of the game.
The Knights struggled even more, going scoreless for over six minutes before Kiana Brown scored a layup to make it 7-2.
The Lobos never looked back, leading wire-to-wire in the team’s first regular season action.
Natalie Zamora — a player for the Knights and native of Albuquerque who hails from St. Pius X High School — had a huge homecoming game against the Lobos. She scored 18 points on 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range.
The teams heated up once the second quarter began. Zamora put up a 3-pointer for the Knights midway through the quarter that cut the lead to 26-23.
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Zamora drained another 3-pointer near the end of the quarter, but Lapeyrolerie wasn't having it as she quickly responded with a three-pointer of her own on the ensuing possession to prevent an attempt at a comeback.
The half ended on a last-second three from Burleson, while the Lobos enjoyed a comfortable 48-33 lead.
The three-point barrage continued in the second half. Lapeyrolerie stayed hot as the Lobos stretched the lead to 64-45.
In the fourth period, guard Emily Lines drained two 3-pointers for the Lobos and the Knights didn't have an answer. The Lobos eventually grew their lead to 27 points at the end, where they bagged the game away with 83-56.
Four Lobos scored in double digits on the night. Richelle van der Keijl had 20 points in her first game as a Lobo on 10-for-14 shooting from the field. Burleson scored 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting, going 4-for-7 from the charity stripe.
Lapeyrolerie scored a game-high 21 points off the bench. Lines also put up 10 points for the Lobos, going 3-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc; she also went 1-for-2 from the free throw line.
The Lobos dominated in all aspects of the game. They led in the rebounding category, bringing in 57 boards to FDU’s 34. The three-ball was there all night for the Lobos too, where they netted 41 percent of their shots.
The Lobos’ 11 made 3-pointers is what gave them the edge, but it also was the first time in a while the team made more than 10 treys. The last time they did that was on Feb. 26, 2011 against the TCU Horned Frogs.
“I think this is a very exciting style of play and it's fun,” Lapeyrolerie said of the new offense Bradbury has implemented in his first season as the Lobos’ head coach. “It's fun and it's exciting, not just for us but also for the fans to enjoy and watch for the next hour and a half to two hours.”
The Lobos return to play on Tuesday, as they take on New Mexico State in the Rio Grande Rivalry at WisePies Arena at 7 p.m.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
