Lobos’ speed, defense set tone in exhibition victory
Women overcome icy shooting from outside
The glass was unquestionably half full for the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team Tuesday night.
Yes, the Lobos had an ice-cold 3-point shooting night in their exhibition opener against Lubbock Christian at Dreamstyle Arena. And yes, they committed a few too many turnovers, quite a few of them unforced.
But the good easily outweighed the bad as UNM rode its depth, quickness and aggressive defense to a 62-55 win over a stout exhibition opponent. The Lady Chaps went 31-2 last season, advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight and were coming off an 11-point exhibition win Sunday at SMU.
UNM got enough offense from inside the arc to earn the win, however. Jaisa Nunn collected 17 points and nine rebounds, and Aisia Robertson had 15 points and five assists in her first game since transferring from Kansas in 2017.
“Overall I thought it was great,” Robertson said of the outing. “We’re still a new team, learning and building chemistry, which is different at game speed. We didn’t shoot like we can but we showed we’re versatile. We don’t have to live and die by the 3.”
It’s a much different Lobo team from the one that finished 25-11 in 2017-18 as seven players saw their first UNM minutes Tuesday. All 13 active players on New Mexico’s roster got in the game.
Nunn, who went 6-for-6 from the field, actually enjoyed watching her new teammates from the bench. She played just 26 minutes, which was typically a bad sign for UNM last season.
“I actually got a little rest time and got a different perspective,” Nunn said. “We have a lot of depth this year and I’m loving it.”
The Lobos did not start well, missing their first 11 3-point shots and trailing 12-10 after one quarter. But UNM amped up its defense in the second quarter and outscored LCU 22-8 to gain control and put a smile on coach Mike Bradbury’s face.
“I actually thought we played pretty well on both ends,” Bradbury said. “Defensively we didn’t really prepare a plan, we just played our base defense and did that well. Offensively, we couldn’t hit a 3-point shot but we had a lot of wide-open looks and the right people shooting. This team won’t shoot like that (5-for-33
Sunday
Eastern New Mexico at UNM (exhibition) 2 p.m., 610 AM/95.9 FM from 3-point range) very often.”
Freshman jitters may well have been a factor. The Lobos played five,
including starting guard Jayla Everett, and four of them combined to go 1-for23 from the field and 0-for-16 from 3-point range.
The freshman exception was forward Shai McGruder, who gave the Lobos a huge spark in her first Pit appearance. With LCU leading 14-11 early in the second quarter, McGruder scored eight consecutive points. She cashed in backto-back three-point plays then banked in a layup on a slick bounce pass from Robertson to put UNM ahead 19-14.
“Shai was killing it in her minutes,” Nunn said. “That was fun to watch.”
UNM built its lead to 32-20 by halftime and took its biggest advantage, 48-32, on an Emily Lines 3-pointer late in the third quarter. But the Lady Chaps did not go away.
Led by sisters Maddi and Bobbi Chitsey, who combined for 23 points, the Lady Chaps took advantage of some empty Lobo possessions and scratched their way back to within 54-49 with 3:17 left.
But after a New Mexico timeout, Robertson hit her third 3-pointer of the game, followed it with a steal and
then hit Jaedyn De La Cerda, who buried an open 3 to make it 60-49 and effectively seal the win. De La Cerda finished with nine points.