The last time the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team played was March 11 against the San Diego State Aztecs in the Mountain West Tournament. Unfortunately for the Lobos, they lost that game 67-56, ending their season. What has followed with the team can only be described as a mass exodus, as a total of eight players are departing — seven of those through the transfer portal.
The one player who is not leaving via the transfer portal is guard Aniyah Augmon. Augmon is deciding to forgo her senior year to graduate and pursue other passions outside of basketball.
The biggest losses to the transfer portal for the Lobos are guard Nyah Wilson and forward Paula Reus, who both were significant parts of the team. Other players who are leaving through the transfer portal include Natalia Chavez, Nahawa Diarra Berthe, Mackenzie Curtis, Hannah Robbins and Jaelyn Bates.
The transfer portal leads to players leaving, which can make coaching difficult. For Head Coach Mike Bradbury, it’s something to embrace.
“It’s something you just got to embrace. It makes things different. It makes things, at times, a little more difficult, but it’s something coaches have to embrace,” Bradbury said.
Being a player during the transfer portal era isn’t easy either, as many teammates who you built chemistry with can leave. Guard Vianè Cumber found the amount of players who left surprising, she said.
“It was kind of surprising, at first, to see the amount of players leave, but people transfer every year; this is just a part of it, we just have to go through it,” Cumber said.
Cumber has played her whole collegiate career with the Lobos. She started all 29 games she appeared in this previous season and was also a key piece to the roster. Being one of the only remaining starters from this previous season, Cumber is now in a leadership role.
Being in this role is something she doesn’t mind, she said.
“Just being in the program for the amount of years I have, being in a leadership role is something that is just part of who I am. I don’t mind it,” Cumber said.
The transfer portal hasn’t been all bad for the Lobos. At the time of publication, the Lobos have already started to recruit and sign players themselves. Those players are guard Destinee Hooks from Vincennes University, forward Clarissa Craig from the University of Cincinnati and forward Amhyia Moreland from conference opponent San José State University.
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Bradbury said he feels good about the construction of the team so far — especially solidifying the front court — but is still working on getting some more players in.
“I think that we have done a really good job of solidifying the front court with some 4’s and some 5’s. We’re still working on getting some guards in here — we’ve had several visits and got more scheduled,” Bradbury said.
The Lobos are still a long ways away from the start of next season and there are still a lot of roster spots yet to be filled. Roster construction will be a key part of being competitive next season.
Rodney Prunty is a freelance sports reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on twitter @Rprunty05
