The Lobo women's basketball team clinched their first road win of the season in the team’s conference opener at Fresno State, 80-54 on Thursday evening.
New Mexico (5-6, 1-0 MW) got a balanced performance, especially on the offensive end. Only six players scored in the game, but half of them registered double-digits scoring early and often.
Junior guard Cherise Beynon – who has struggled with her shot at times this season – put up a team-high 20 points. She also dished out six assists and brought down nine rebounds, one shy of achieving her fourth double-double of the year.
Alex Lapeyrolerie netted 19 of the bench’s 35 points, which was nearly twice as much as the 18 bench points from Fresno State. Lapeyrolerie was 7-of-11 shooting from the field, knocking down three shots from behind the arc.
Senior center Richelle van der Keijl outdueled her counterpart in the post, Fresno State’s best player statistically, Bego Faz Davalos. She notched 16 points, seven
Fresno State (7-5, 0-1 MW) was led by Emilie Volk, who managed just 10 points against a stingy Lobo defense.
New Mexico effectively shut down the top two scorers and forced its opponent to shoot just under 34 percent for the game, while shooting better than 49 percent from the floor itself.
The Lobos did not shoot well from the
Rebounding proved to be a big factor as the Lobos outperformed the Bulldogs on the glass 49-29, many of which led to an 18-2 second chance scoring differential.
The team also took better advantage of mistakes, outscoring Fresno State 17-5 off turnovers.
The game started off with a Mykiel Burleson layup that quickly gave the Lobos a lead they would never relinquish.They ended the quarter on a strong note, going on a 7-0 run to snag a 22-13 lead.
The Lobos went up by as many as 13 in the second quarter, but Fresno State picked up the pace and put together a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to seven. But New Mexico responded to take a 41-25 halftime lead by scoring the final 10 points of the quarter.
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The Lobos didn't slow their pace in the second half as they have in previous games this season. The team increased the bulge to 22 points, leading 66-44 entering the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the lead continued to swell. The 26 final margin of victory matched the largest lead of the game as UNM took an 80-54 victory over Fresno State to start Mountain West play off with a bang.
The Lobos turn their attention to its second conference bout by hosting San Diego State (5-6, 0-0 MW).
The Aztecs are riding the wave of a three-game winning streak, all of which have been by double digits. The most recent win came in a 63-48 victory over Biola on Wednesday.
SDSU junior guard McKynzie Fort logged a career-high 29 points in the preceding game against Cal State Fullerton and the Lobos may need another strong defensive stand to neutralize her 16.8 point scoring average.
Senior guard Ariell Bostick has shown great defensive ability in creating turnovers. She averages just over two steals per game.
The Lobos appear to have a size advantage down low, which might affect San Diego State’s lineup. Although she hasn’t started a game this season, the Aztecs could counter with more playing time by 6’6” center Naomi Edwedike, who has played in nine games.
The teams square off at WiesPies Arena aka The Pit on Dec. 31 at 7 p.m. The game will air 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@dailyobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz
