The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team beat the Boise State Broncos, 100-83, at Dreamstyle Arena on Wednesday evening, improving the team to a perfect 3-0 in the Mountain West (the last team undefeated in conference play) and 15-1 overall.
The 100 points scored against Boise State (8-6, 2-1 Mountain West) is the first 100-point game the Lobos have had since the inception of the Mountain West.
UNM was led by senior guard Alex Lapeyrolerie, who had a career-high 23 points on an 8-for-15 shooting night, with five of those shots made coming from beyond the arc.
Despite Lapeyrolerie’s performance on offense, four other Lobos scored in double digits. Junior post Jaisa Nunn scored 19 points, senior guards Cherise Beynon and Tesha Buck had 18 and 15, respectively, while freshman Antonia Anderson finished with 13 points.
“I think we have a team that’s capable of having a lot of different people score,” UNM head coach Mike Bradbury said. “And today we needed it. When we move the ball and play unselfish like we did today, we can score.”
Beynon had a double-double, however, while also tying a career-high—and UNM record— in assists, as she dished out 15 against the Broncos.
“I’d attack and I would put so much pressure on their defense that it left Jaisa, Alex or Tesha open for a wide open 3 or a layup,” Beynon said. “Just playing unselfishly tonight and we found open looks.”
It took nearly three minutes into the game for the Lobos to get on the scoreboard, but freshman guard N’Dea Flye, after a Boise State missed shot, secured the rebound and ran down the court to hit a jumper to put UNM up 2-0 early on.
In similar fashion, Buck grabbed a rebound on the defensive end, a few possessions later, and scored on a jumper, giving the Lobos a 4-0 lead.
The first quarter, overall, was one to forget for both teams. Though UNM grabbed a 15-13 lead by the end of it, they shot horribly, hitting only 25 percent of their attempts in the frame.
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It was in the second quarter that UNM’s offense started to flow. But Boise State, too, was rolling. Lapeyrolerie hit three 3-pointers in the frame, but Boise State’s sophomore guard, Riley Lupfer, traded shots with Lapeyrolerie in the frame, nailing two 3s of her own.
Beynon has seven points and freshman guard Madi Washington—who hit a buzzer-beating, off-balance 2-pointer—had six points in the second quarter, putting the Lobos up 44-38 at the half.
In the opening minutes of the third quarter, the Lobos kept distance with Boise State, leading by as many as nine points. But the Broncos went on an 8-0 run midway through the frame, capitalized by a 3-pointer from junior guard Marta Hermida, to bring the game within a single point, 56-55.
From there, however, the Lobos got eight points in a row out of Anderson and, by the end of the quarter, found themselves leading the Broncos, 66-62.
After Boise State opened up the fourth quarter with a layup, and brought the game within a single possession, it seemed as if the Lobos would falter. Instead Lapeyrolerie answered with a 3-pointer.
UNM never led by double digits in the fourth until the very end and, with four minutes to go, were only up by four points. But Nunn came in clutch when it mattered, and scored 11 points—all from the post, and one free throw—in the frame, which propelled the Lobos to their fourth straight win, as they defeated the Broncos, 100-83, at home.
In the game, UNM made 52.3 percent of its shots from the field and 38.5 percent of its 3-point attempts. On the other hand, Boise State shot 50 percent from the field and 48 percent from beyond the arc.
Lupfer of Boise State scored a game-high 24 points for Boise State, and she hit five of her eight 3-pointers in the game.
The Lobos outrebounded Boise State 36-33, behind Buck’s eight rebounds, which is a season high for her. They also forced 18 Broncos’ turnovers, which the Lobos translated into 20 points.
Asked after the win over the Broncos how being undefeated in conference play and 15-1 overall, Buck gave a humble response.
“We have a long way to go,” Buck said. “We have a lot of games left, a lot of season left.
“I mean, it feels good to be 15-1, but we just got to get better everyday.”
Up next for UNM is a two game road trip, as they will travel to San Jose State on Saturday and Wyoming next Wednesday.
Matthew Narvaiz is a senior sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
