Women's Basketball: Lobos drop first conference game of the season at UNLV

A 5-0 start against Mountain West competition was not in the cards for the Lobo women’s basketball team, as it couldn’t climb out of an early hole Wednesday in Las Vegas, Nevada.

New Mexico (8-7, 4-1 MW) fell 56-42 to the UNLV Lady Rebels, its only blemish so far in conference play.

The Lobos did not shoot well in the game, especially from behind the arc. The team shot a measly 21.9 percent, hitting just 14 of its 64 attempts. UNM also missed all 19 of its 3-point attempts – denoting the first time the Lobos have failed to make at least one 3-point basket in a game this season.

UNLV (12-5, 3-2 MW) shot 30.9 percent from the field and went 10-of-29 from 3-point land.

The Lobos were also outrebounded by the Lady Rebels, falling to 0-6 when opponents outperform them on the boards. UNM brought down 49 rebounds compared to 51 for UNLV.

UNM freshman Mykiel Burleson scored the first point of the game, but the tide quickly turned fell behind in the first quarter. UNLV’s Alyssa Anderson, who started as a result of a pair of teammates receiving a one-game suspension for fighting, made the most of her opportunity.

Neither team scored in the final four minutes of the opening period, but the damage had already been done by then. UNLV nailed five 3-pointers, three of them by Anderson, to amass a 23-8 lead.

The Lobos struck first again in the second quarter with a Nunn layup to trim the Lobos’ deficit to only 13 points. But UNLV went on a 6-0 run to claim a 19-point lead, its largest of the game, midway through the second.

The Lobos trimmed some of the lead away to trailing 34-20 heading into the third.

UNM ratcheted up the defensive intensity following halftime. The team forced four key turnovers in the first four minutes to chip away at the UNLV lead.

The Lobos outscored the Lady Rebels 13-7 in the third quarter, pulling within single digits for the first time since early on in the first quarter. The Lobos entered the fourth quarter down 41-33.

Burleson scored a jumper to open the fourth quarter scoring, but UNLV responded with a 6-0 run to derail the comeback big and put their lead back into the double digits midway through the quarter.

The Lobos got the deficit down to eight points again, but never got within striking distance. The Lady Rebels drilled three consecutive 3-pointers to grow their lead to 17 with a little less than three minutes on the clock.

The final scored favored UNLV 56-42, officially ending the Lobos’ undefeated record in Mountain West play.

Junior guard Cherise Beynon hails from the Las Vegas area, but didn't have the homecoming she was hoping for. She was averaging 16.6 points per game – second-best in the Mountain West Conference, but failed to put up double digits, scoring just four points on 1-of-14 shooting.

UNM sophomore Jaisa Nunn put up a team-high 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting and also logged in seven rebounds and one block on the night.

Senior Richelle van der Keijl was the next best performer on the squad. She had 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting, adding 13 rebounds and two blocks to log her fifth double-double of the season.

The Lobos’ next matchup comes at home against Colorado State in a “Pack the Pit” game. All tickets have a $2 ticket price. The game is set for Saturday, Jan. 14, at 3 p.m. and will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.

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