UTEP guard to transfer to UNM for senior season
Najala Howell has taken one difficult matchup off her upcoming basketball schedule.
The second-leading scorer and rebounder for UTEP’s women’s basketball team last season, Howell officially committed Wednesday to transfer to the rival University of New Mexico for her senior campaign. She will sit out the upcoming season under NCAA transfer rules and be eligible to play in 2019-20.
Howell is a 5-foot-10 guard who posted some impressive numbers in three seasons with the Miners. She averaged 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds as a junior with 21 double-digit scoring performances and a pair of 23-point games.
“Naj is a handful,” Lobo coach Mike Bradbury said. “We feel like she’ll be a presence for us the minute she becomes eligible.”
UNM fans may have some familiarity with
Howell, who played against the Lobos each of the past three seasons. She did not exactly light it up against New Mexico, scoring a total of 10 points in those games, but Bradbury did not hold that against Howell.
“We actually showed her the scouting report we had for her last season,” Bradbury said. “She was the focal point of our defensive game plan. We were all over her.”
Howell went 0-for-4 from the field and scored just two points in UNM’s 59-35 victory at UTEP’s Don Haskins Center. She scored eight points against UNM at the Pit in 2016-17 — a 79-66 Lobos win.
UNM’s extensive game-planning may have thwarted Howell on the court but it paid off when she visited Albuquerque on a recruiting trip last weekend. Bradbury and his assistant coaches knew exactly what Howell could bring to the table.
“She’s really athletic, can shoot 3s and does a nice job putting the ball on the floor,” Bradbury said. “Plus, she has a ton of experience. I think she can help our young players next year even when she’s sitting out.”
Howell ranked second in minutes played and 3-pointers made (37) for UTEP last season. She led the team in 3-point percentage (35.9).
According to the El Paso Times, Howell is one of four players who will transfer out of UTEP after coach Kevin Baker’s first season. UNM lost three potential returning players (Mykiel Burleson, N’Dea Flye and Jasmine Smith) to transfers after 2017-18 but has since added three spring signees. Howell joins graduate transfer Nike McClure from Washington State and freshman Ahlise Hurst from Australia.
“I chose New Mexico because this program is the perfect fit for me,” Howell said in a UNM release. “I’m excited because it’s been a long time coming, and I know for a FACT that nothing but blessings are coming this way for me and for the Lobos.”