New Mexico women’s basketball will officially kick off its 2016-2017 season with a pair of exhibition games, hosting its first opponent, Fort Lewis, on Tuesday in WisePies Arena aka The Pit.
The Lobos were selected No. 6 in the Mountain West preseason poll, with a total of 176 votes, including one first-place vote.
Fort Lewis was tabbed eighth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference preseason poll, with 111 points.
Fort Lewis College finished last season with a 19-11 overall record, going 13-9 in league play as the team played its way into the RMAC championship game. The Skyhawks seem to be ascending after improving on their 2014-2015 campaign, when the team won 16 games.
The Division II opponent shouldn’t put a lot of pressure on the Lobos in the exhibition match, as New Mexico has been perennially tough at home, winning over 60 percent of its games (375-195).
Eastern New Mexico — UNM’s opponent on Sunday — was projected to finish seventh in the Lone Star Conference in the league’s preseason poll, tied with Midwestern State with 145 votes.
The Greyhounds went 10-17 last season and posted a 5-11 conference record.
Tuesday’s game will mark the debut of New Mexico’s first-year head coach Mike Bradbury.
Bradbury was named leader of New Mexico women’s basketball this year after posting the highest winning percentage in Wright State history as he led the school to its first-ever NCAA berth in 2014.
Seven Lobo lettermen from the squad last year will return to the court this season, but only two are seniors. The team also welcomes six new faces this season.
A new system and coaching philosophy could be challenging for a squad that dropped from No. 2 to No. 5 in the conference last season.
The Lobos will likely rely on their veterans for support, especially junior guard Cherise Beynon and center Jaisa Nunn, who can speed the game up with strong drives to the basket and their solid three-point shooting.
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Beynon, meanwhile, was selected to the preseason All-Conference squad. She will lead the offense for the Lobos, as she averaged 12.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game last season, making her a member of the 2015-16 All-Mountain West Team.
Nunn was selected All-Freshman Team last season. She should provide a boost on both sides on the floor as she looks to improve on solid numbers from last year, in which she averaged 7.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. She also recorded a total of 10 blocks.
The Lobos have a strong recruiting class, having brought in three talented freshmen. One of them, Mykiel Burleson, was named MW Preseason Freshman of the Year, and is expected to make a strong impact.
Tuesday’s matchup will be a homecoming for one Skyhawk. Senior guard Astrea Reed was born in Albuquerque, and graduated from Sandia High School.
The exhibition games should be the perfect opportunity for the teams to employ new offensive and defensive strategies, and come away with a better understanding of who is ready to start.
The schools might also feel a desire to prove voters wrong, as neither were projected to finish near the top of their respective conferences.
As UNM will likely want to get out and run, Fort Lewis might be looking to try to slow the pace down. Bradbury said things happen very fast in his offensive system. It should be interesting to see how ready the women are to execute it.
Tuesday’s game against Fort Lewis is set to tip off at 7 p.m.
Bo Yu is a sports reporter at the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country and women’s volleyball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Bo_YuB.
