Basketball: Women crush Aztecs to open MW play at 2-0, improve to .500 on season

The Lobo women’s basketball team finished 2016 in the best way possible, dominating the San Diego State Aztecs, 85-42 on Saturday evening.

New Mexico (6-6, 2-0 MW) improved to .500 on the season with the victory over San Diego State (5-7, 0-1 MW). It is the first time the Lobos have started 2-0 in conference play since the 2008-09 season.

Junior guard Cherise Beynon headlined a supercharged performance. She had 23 points – the fifth time this season she’s scored over 20 – nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

She finished just one rebound shy of a double-double, but probably could’ve pushed for a triple-double had she not have been taken out midway through the fourth quarter.

Head coach Mike Bradbury said Beynon has been playing very well as of late, and is an integral part of the team’s success.

“The last five, six games she’s been player-of-the-week quality,” Bradbury said of Beynon’s play. “We’ve said it before, but if we’re going to be any good, Cherise needs to be good and she has been.”

Jayda Bovero, another junior guard, was also close to a double-double night, turning in eight points and nine rebounds on the night.

Two others scored in double figures for the Lobos alongside Beynon. Freshman starter Mykiel Burleson had 12 points, while Jaisa Nunn came off the bench to score the same.

Sophomore Emily Lines didn’t let her time go to waste as she helped the bench put up 32 points in the game. She presented a scoring threat late in the game, pouring in nine points on 3-of-5 shooting – all coming from in the fourth quarter from beyond the arc.

The Lobos got out on top quickly, with Beynon scoring on a layup a minute into the game. The guard posted 14 of her 23 points in the opening quarter, helping the Lobos to a 31-15 lead.

The second quarter was a scary one for everyone in attendance. Alex Lapeyrolerie was knocked out cold, when her head apparently collided with another player’s shoulder while she was cutting to the basket at the 5:35 mark.

Lapeyrolerie laid on the court and was unresponsive for about half a minute as WisePies Arena fell silent. But she seemed to blink when the head coach was standing next to her and was eventually put on a stretcher and carried off the floor.

Lapeyrolerie scored eight points prior to the injury to put an end to her night, and Bradbury seemed optimistic after the game about her overall condition.

“I’m told she’s talking and moving around and is going to be fine,” Bradbury said. I didn’t see what happened, but it was a little scary seeing her laying there. She’s being checked out and it all sounds positive now.”

Though it was surely difficult for her teammates to take the floor after seeing Lapeyrolerie suffer the injury, the Lobos resumed play and played inspired ball. The team ran the lead up to 30 points and held a 51-21 halftime advantage.

New Mexico posted a bad shooting percentage in the third quarter, shooting just 26.7 percent coming out of the locker room.

But San Diego State was unable to capitalize, going just 25 percent from the field itself. In fact, the Aztecs lost ground and trailed 63-30 going into the final period.

The fourth quarter ended on a high-note for the Lobos. Lines hit three 3-pointers, two assists, a rebound and one block in the quarter alone. Brittany Panetti also sunk her first career 3-pointer in the quarter, helping the Lobos cruise to a comfortable 43-point win, 85-42.

The Lobos head back into action on Wednesday, Jan. 4, as they take on Utah State at WisePies Arena aka The Pit. The game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network at 7 p.m.

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