UNM still in thick of MWC race as roster gets thin
Squad down to 8 for tonight at Boise State
The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team is ready to circle the wagons as it heads into the final five games of the 2016-17 regular season.
Problem is, there aren’t many wagons left.
Monday’s announcement that freshman Mykiel Burleson will miss the rest of the season with a torn left ACL left the wounded Lobos with just eight healthy players. UNM (14-10, 9-4 Mountain West) will start finding out whether eight is enough tonight at Boise State (16-7, 6-6).
Burleson joins teammates Emily Lines and Jaisa Nunn on the injured list. All three suffered season-ending ACL injuries.
But the remaining Lobos go into tonight’s game in third place in the Mountain West race. Instead of dwelling on their depleted roster, coach Mike Bradbury and his players are pulling together and even breaking out a little gallows humor.
“We’ve got eight players left,” Bradbury said, “that’s plenty. We only need five to play. We’ve got room for three more of these (season-ending injuries).”
Junior point guard Cherise Beynon, who has averaged a team-high 33.8 minutes per game since MWC play started, said she now expects to play even more. Beynon doesn’t mind and believes the Lobos should play with the same intensity they’ve displayed all year — with one condition.
“None of us can really afford to get in foul trouble,” Beynon said with a smile. “That could definitely be a problem.”
Bradbury said he’s never had to contend with so many key injuries during a season, but he refuses to use it as an excuse going forward. UNM’s players and coaches discussed the situation prior to Monday’s practice and came away with an unofficial motto.
“Nobody cares,” Bradbury said. “We’ve got injuries, so what? Nobody
feels sorry for us. We’ve got five games left, we’ll play with those we’ve got and try to win them all.”
UNM’s situation in Bradbury’s first season is reminiscent of the 2011-12 campaign, Yvonne Sanchez’s first as head coach. Both rosters were left thin by offseason transfers and further decimated by injuries.
The 2011-12 team lost Sarah Halasz, Whitney Johnson and Deeva Vaughn to season-ending injuries and at times had as few as six scholarship players available. The roster was bolstered by walk-ons Maddie Muraida, Jamie Parker and UNM volleyball player Ashley Rhoades, who joined the Lobos after her senior season. That team finished the regular season 9-19 before making a shocking run to the MWC tournament final with all three walk-ons seeing tournament action.
This year’s UNM team has no walk-ons but has persevered through injuries. Bradbury concedes that his remaining players must excel but said many top women’s teams employ seven players or fewer on a regular basis.
“That part doesn’t concern me at all,” he said. “We just can’t afford for anyone to have a really bad game.”
Beynon called UNM’s recent rash of injuries “unreal,” but said the remaining Lobos are determined to look ahead.
“It’s unfortunate this happened to us,” she said, “but we have to have the right mindset and push through. Our teammates who can’t play, we have to play for them. If we play for each other, we can still make the best of this.”
CHANGES TO COME? Bradbury said his team’s three ACL injuries feel like something more than just bad luck. He plans to evaluate the program’s various fitness and training regimens once the season ends.
“I feel like there’s got to be a reason (for the injuries),” he said. “That’ll be addressed in the spring.”