Lobo women begin important West Coast trip
Robertson excited to be returning home
Aisia Robertson has had this week circled on her calendar for quite some time. It’s homecoming week. Robertson, the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team’s junior point guard, has never had an opportunity to play college basketball close to home. That will change when the San Francisco native and her Lobos visit San Jose State tonight.
“It’s definitely great to be able to play in the Bay Area again,” Robertson said. “I’ve been waiting a long time. Now we have to make sure we play well.”
Tonight’s matchup looks unremarkable on paper. The Lobos (19-3, 9-2 Mountain West) are in the hunt for a regular-season conference championship, while the Spartans (2-19, 1-9) reside in the league’s basement.
But tonight’s contest tips off a critical California road swing for secondplace UNM, which visits third-place Fresno State on Saturday and won’t return home in between. Coach Mike Bradbury does not want his players looking ahead.
“San Jose State has been blown out in road games but they play pretty well at home,” Bradbury said. “They have more-than-capable players and a ton of them, so they’ll play fast and come at us in waves. We have to be ready for that type of game.”
Bradbury does not have to look far to find a cautionary example. UNM rolled into SJSU’s Event Center with a gaudy 15-1 record last season and was promptly thumped by a Spartans team that finished 4-14 in Mountain West play.
Robertson had to sit out last season after transferring from Kansas but she remembers the Lobos’ disappointing performance.
“We try not to think too much about last year,” Robertson said, “but we do need to learn from that lesson. We can’t overlook (the Spartans), especially in their house. We have to be humble, focused and bring our ‘A’ game.”
New Mexico is coming off one of its best offensive performances of the season, an 85-74 victory over Nevada at Dreamstyle Arena on Saturday. The Lobos shot 58.5 percent from the field and finished 8 of 19 from 3-point range.
Guard Jayla Everett (24 points) and post Jaisa Nunn (22) had strong out-
ings for UNM against Wolf Pack, but no one did more to spark the Lobos than Robertson. She racked up 18 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals, with the latter three totals as team highs.
Robertson grinned when asked if she planned to put on a show for friends and family tonight.
“I hope so,” she said. “I’ll definitely have some people there, and I know some of my cousins, nephews and nieces are planning to drive to Fresno for Saturday’s game. I’m excited. When I was at Kansas, the closest we ever got to home was Arizona.”
Tonight’s matchup figures to suit Robertson, who typically excels in transition. San Jose State plays an uptempo style and employs a deep bench in an attempt to wear down opponents.
The Spartans frequently start five guards which can help to force their preferred pace. But they also struggle defensively and have typically been clobbered on the boards.
Bradbury hopes those trends continue tonight.
“We have to make sure we rebound, especially on the defensive end,” he said. “If we do that, we’ll be able to push the ball and I like our chances in transition. San Jose State plays as fast as anybody in our league, but we’re built to play fast, too. It’s just a matter of playing to our strengths not theirs.”