Freshman guard Mykiel Burleson led the charge for New Mexico women’s basketball in an 89-70 win over the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds on Sunday afternoon at WisePies arena.
Burleson led the Lobos by scoring 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting and 5-for-8 from the free throw line.
Eastern New Mexico’s Johna McClelland made the first shot of the game to put the Greyhounds up two, but that didn’t sit well with Cherise Beynon. The junior guard quickly struck back with a 3-pointer to give the Lobos the lead.
But Eastern stayed on the attack, keeping the Lobos off balance for much of the first quarter.. The Greyhounds surged ahead, going on an 8-3 run to put their team up 11-6 with 4:55 still on the clock.
Then the Lobos had put together a run toward the end of the quarter. Down 11-6, the Lobos stepped on the gas and to end things on an 8-2 run and held a 14-13 lead.
The Lobos steadily increased their lead during the second quarter and held a 41-32 halftime advantage, despite struggling to rebound the ball.
Head coach Mike Bradbury believed that his team didn't play up to its potential in the first half, but that they struck hard in the second half of play.
“I think we were much better in the second half. In the first half I thought Eastern came in here and played harder than us, and whipped us especially on the boards,” Bradbury said. “I think in the second half we did a lot better in that area.”
The Lobos got out-rebounded 29-27in the first half, but crashed the boards much harder in the second half.
Bradbury said his message to the team at halftime was simple — “rebound better,” and the team seemed to respond.
The Lobos’ two tallest players — Kiana Keller and Richelle van der Kijel — both had 10 rebounds in the game, while Jaisa Nunn picked up 12 to lead the team. Keller also had a game-high six blocks.
With the momentum swinging the Lobos’ way, the team rallied behind Jaisa Nunn in the third quarter, who scored 9 points in the quarter to give the Lobos an 11-point lead going into the fourth.
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Nunn’s credited her excellent second half play to her head coach and his instruction to not shy away from the ball.
“I remember in the first half (Bradbury) said, ‘You can't be hesitant or else you will miss your shot,’” Nunn said. “I just kept shooting threes and got a little bit more confident.”
The Lobos finished strong in the final moments of the game. With 3:48 left to play, the team reeled off a 10-0 run to close things out and take the 89-70 win.
New Mexico shot the ball poorly throughout the game, especially from behind the arc. The Lobos went just under 38 percent from the field, and an abysmal 13 percent from 3-point land.
Free throws are ultimately what gave the Lobos the win. The team shot 36-for-54 from the charity strike as a team, while its opposition only shot seven total free throws.
Four other Lobos joined Burleson in scoring double digits for the game. Van der Keijl scored 11 points on a 4-for-6 shooting night, though she made just three of her nine free throw attempts.
Beynon had an off night, shooting just 2-for-14, but made an impact at the charity stripe, sinking 13 free throws en route to 18 points. Alex Lapeyrolerie and Nunn both chipped in 13 points, with 11 of Nunn’s total coming in the third quarter.
Nunn and van der Keijl also registered double-doubles on the afternoon with their rebounding effort.
The Lobos women’s basketball team kicks off regular season action Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. at WisePies Arena, where they take on out-of-conference opponent Fairleigh Dickinson.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women's basketball. He can be reached on Twitter @matt_narvaiz or at sports@dailylobo.com
