Experience a virtue for Lobos
Seniors Beynon, Buck, Lapeyrolerie providing points, poise
They’re far too young for a senior discount. How about a senior bonus?
The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team has been receiving just that from its most experienced players this season. With three seniors starting and one playing key minutes off the bench, the Lobos are off to a record 11-0 start and have matched the longest overall winning streak in program history. (UNM also won 11 straight in 1977-78 and 2003-04.)
Seniors have had a lot to do with it.
Starting guards Cherise Beynon, Tesha Buck and Alex Lapeyrolerie have not only stuffed the stat sheets, they’ve provided clutch plays and needed poise in the closing minutes of close games. The latest example came Sunday when the trio scored 11 of the Lobos’ 12 overtime points in a 94-87 victory over Navy at Dreamstyle Arena. It wasn’t by accident.
“Those were the plays we ran,” Lobo coach Mike Bradbury said. “Unless something else came wide open, we wanted Cherise or Tesha to shoot it (in overtime). They delivered on that.”
After a free throw by freshman N’Dea Flye gave UNM an 83-82 lead, Beynon and Buck proceeded to post up their defenders and score inside on three consecutive possessions. Lapeyrolerie then swished a 3-pointer from the corner and suddenly the Lobos had their largest lead in what had been a
tight, back-and-forth game.
Beynon said the three postup plays were not necessarily mandated.
“Those specific plays just happened,” she said, “but we wanted to keep attacking and we knew we had a height advantage over most of (Navy’s) guards. We wanted to capitalize on that.”
Beynon, Buck and Lapeyrolerie combined to score 53 of UNM’s 94 points Sunday. Fellow senior Laneah Bryan knocked down her only shot — a key 3-pointer late in the first half — in 8 minutes of action as well.
But UNM’s poise may have been even more evident in the final 21 seconds of regulation, with the score tied at 82 and the Midshipmen in possession of the ball. As Navy worked to get a shot for red-hot guard Taylor Dunham (she scored 34 points), Flye broke things up by fouling her with 5 seconds left. It was only the Lobos’ second foul of the quarter, requiring Navy to inbound the ball.
Beynon then matched up with Dunham after the inbounds pass and opted not to foul. Dunham ended up missing a long desperation 3-pointer as time expired.
“We talked about fouling if (the Midshipmen) caught it with their back to the basket or if they were way out there,” Bradbury said. “But you don’t want to get your hands out and have them lean into you for a foul. We kind of left it to the players to make that decision, and Cherise made the right one.”
Buck said experience was an important factor in the game’s deciding moments.
“I don’t think we were too worried,” she said. “Obviously, Navy’s a really good team and you’re aware that they have a shot to beat you. But what we did well was stay calm and play through it, which I think comes
with maturity. We’ve got some really good young players on this team and it’s our job as seniors to show maturity in big situations.”
STILL OUTSIDE: The Lobos picked up more votes but remained just outside the rankings in Monday’s Associated Press Top 25 poll. UNM received 39 votes, up from 26 last week, but remained an unofficial 27th. The USA Today Coaches Poll will be released today.
Despite picking up home wins over Texas Tech and Navy last week, the Lobos received little cooperation from the teams immediately ahead of them in the poll. Among teams ranked 15-25 last week, only two lost. No. 20 Kentucky fell out of the rankings, while South Florida slipped from 16th to 22nd after a loss at Oklahoma. UNM visits the Sooners on Saturday.
More significantly, the Lobos climbed 12 spots in the NCAA RPI rankings after Sunday’s win. They were ranked 11th as of Monday. MWC UPDATE: Overall, it was a good week for the Mountain West as several teams picked up solid wins and seem to be hitting their stride. Colorado State, San Diego State and Wyoming are 6-3 and tied for second place behind New Mexico. Boise State and UNLV are 5-3 and Nevada is 5-4.
Last week’s highlights included Boise State’s 85-62 home rout of Washington, UNLV’s 52-50 win at Gonzaga, and Utah State’s 76-69 victory at BYU. The Aggies, however, dropped a 61-43 decision at Utah Valley three days later.
Nevada (106), Wyoming (132), UNLV (145) and Colorado State (147) have the league’s best RPI rankings after UNM. The remaining six teams are ranked 215 or higher.
Fresno State’s Candice White was named MWC Player of the Week after averaging 20.5 points in wins over Pacific and Montana.