On April 1, University of New Mexico women’s basketball seniors Antonia Anderson and Jaedyn De La Cerda made an official announcement that they were returning to UNM to play a second senior season. This was made possible due to the NCAA giving athletes an extra year of eligibility because the pandemic.
Anderson and De La Cerda have spent the past four years of their collegiate careers at UNM, and both were selected to the All-Conference team for their performances last season.
In a press conference on April 6, Anderson and De La Cerda said they had been exploring their options before making the announcement, but ultimately decided that they would return.
“For me personally, us winning the championship really sealed the deal for me,” Anderson said. “For us to be bringing back literally the same team, that’s huge and something we haven’t done since we’ve been here.”
De La Cerda said that being on the road for a majority of the season was one of the contributors to her decision to come back next season.
“Getting this extra year, being able to play in The Pit next year and having the fans there is going to be like a cherry on top for our super senior year,” De La Cerda said.
Anderson and De La Cerda both said that if there wasn’t an extra year of eligibility, their plans would’ve been to graduate and continue their basketball journeys overseas.
With Anderson and De La Cerda officially returning, the Lobos now have all of their starters from the 2020-2021 season back in UNM colors.
Jesus Mata is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @JesusMataJr99.
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