The New Mexico women's basketball team will host the University of Texas El Paso on Sunday, hoping to duplicate the victory the men’s team achieved over the Miners on Wednesday night.
The Lobos (3-5) come into the game against UTEP (2-5) leading the overall series 31-17. But the last few matchups haven't been favorable for the Lobos, losing last season’s matchup to UTEP 70-62 loss against them last December.
In the last seven meetings between the two, the Lobos have gone 2-5.
The Lobos are coming off of a loss to Minnesota on Tuesday evening, where they almost made a miraculous comeback in the closing seconds of the game, but fell 69-65. Minnesota was arguably the toughest team they've played so far this season.
UTEP is coming off of a win against Houston Baptist, blowing them out 78-45 on Nov. 30.
The Lobos — despite their losing record — are in the top 10 in the nation in defensive rebounds, bringing down an average of 35 boards a game. They are also sixth in total rebounds per game, with an average of 48.5.
Lobo guard Cherise Beynon holds a spot in two top 10 NCAA individual statistical categories, too. She is third in assists per game, averaging 8.1 and 65 total for the season, both tops in the Mountain West.
Beynon had a strong performance against Minnesota despite an ugly shooting percentage. She racked up 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting, and dished out 14 assists. It was her third double-double of the season, putting her second in the Mountain West in that category.
Lobo center Richelle van der Keijl finds herself second in the Mountain West in scoring, averaging 15.75 points per game. She is second in the Mountain West in rebounds per game, averaging 10.62 board a game.
Van der Keijl had a good game against Minnesota as well. She scored 16 points, had nine rebounds and two blocks against Minnesota.
Lobo guard Jayda Bovero brought her shooting touch against Minnesota, knocking down 3-of-6 shots, with all of them coming from beyond the arc.
UTEP will showcase 6’4” Tamara Seda down low, the Miners’ tallest player. Seda averages 8.3 rebound per game to lead her team.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
But the Miners most explosive player might be guard Taylor Sparkle, who leads her team in points per game averaging nearly 15.
The Miners have another distributor in guard Lulu McKinney. She averages five assists per game, and leads her team with a total of 35.
The game between the Lobos and UTEP will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network at 2 p.m. on Sunday as well as broadcasted live on the radio on channel 610 AM.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women's basketball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz
