Editor's Note: The original version of this article stated Shaiquel McGruder is from Wayne Memorial High School, which is incorrect. She is from Trotwood-Madison High School. This has since been corrected. The Daily Lobo apologizes for any confusion.
In similar fashion to the New Mexico men’s basketball team, women’s basketball head coach Mike Bradbury and company practiced in front of fans at Dreamstyle Stadium on Saturday afternoon, giving them a glimpse at what’s to come in the upcoming season.
The practice itself consisted of two 10-minute scrimmages, a five minute scrimmage and a fan meet-and-greet with players on the court.
In the first scrimmage, the Silver team managed to get on the board first to go up 2-0 early on. A 3-pointer by Alex Lapeyrolerie, midway through the quarter, closed Silver team’s lead to 7-12, before she added another layup on the ensuing drive to close the gap to just three points. Then, the Cherry team’s Laneah Bryan drained a 3-pointer to tie it up at 12 points apiece. The first 10-minute scrimmage ended in favor of Silver team, 18-13.
After the teams took a short water break and a shuffling of players, the second scrimmage was underway. After the Cherry team went up 2-0 early on, the Silver team went on a 9-0 run, which was capitalized by an Aisia Robertson layup. Midway through the second scrimmage, Lapeyrolerie, who was on the Cherry team, managed to nail two crucial shots from beyond the arc to shorten the Silver team’s lead to 12-11 with three minutes left to play. However, just like the first scrimmage, the Silver team reigned victorious again.
Lobo fans and season ticket holders since 1999, George and Bernadette Martinez, made their way to the scrimmage to support the team. And what they saw impressed them, especially with some of the new faces to the program.
“N’Dea (Flye) looks pretty good to me,” Bernadette Martinez said. “Aisia (Robertson) is a hustler.”
Indeed the team hustled, and Bradbury recognized that. But the head coach turned his appreciation to the fans when speaking to the Daily Lobo shortly after the scrimmage ended.
“I was happy with the turnout,” Bradbury said. “We’ve got great fans, and it showed today on short turnaround and not great timing.
“As far as how we played and all that, you know, not bad,” he added. “We played at the right pace. We’ll keep getting better. We’re a lot better than we were a month ago.”
Injury update: According to Bradbury, everybody who was injured is cleared to play, with Mykiel Burleson being the latest to be cleared from her injury she sustained last season.
Last season, Jaisa Nunn, Burleson and Emily Lines all suffered injuries from torn ACLs.
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However, Bradbury said minutes for those players — Nunn and Burleson especially — during the two exhibition games won’t be “their normal amount of minutes.”
Two recruits make a visit: During Saturday’s open practice, both Jayla Everett and Shaiquel McGruder were in attendance at Saturday’s open practice, though the capacity of their visits haven’t been said at this time.
Everett, a guard out of Kirkwood High School in St. Louis, Missouri, ranked 65th in ESPN’s 2018 top 100 recruiting list. She also ranks 20th overall at her position, according to ESPN.
A forward out of Trotwood-Madison High School in Ohio, McGruder ranks 21st at her position, according to ESPN.
Gameday starters: Bradbury revealed that Beynon, Nunn and Tesha Buck will be starters on opening night, while he also said one of the two remaining positions is pretty much a done deal — though he didn’t reveal the player’s name.
As for the last position? Bradbury said four players are in contention for the spot: Bryan, Madi Washington, Jasmine Smith and one other are among those listed.
The Lobos will play an exhibition game against Eastern New Mexico at Dreamstyle Stadium on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. — their first of two prior to the season opener.
Matthew Narvaiz is a senior sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers baseball and men’s and women’s basketball but also contributes content for football. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
