Lobos continue to break records, get wins in WNIT

Meh, just another milestone. When someone approached Jaisa Nunn and told her that she’d just surpassed 1,000 points during her career as a University of New Mexico basketball player, she shrugged it off like she did a defender’s reaching hands while going for a rebound.

“It’s great, but, I mean, we still have another game, so I’d rather just keep winning games and end up winning the tournament,” Nunn said. A double-double machine for the Lobos, Nunn is a big reason the team is still dancing in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. Winners over St. Mary’s and Rice in the first two rounds, UNM is into the event’s version of the Sweet 16 when it hosts TCU on Thursday night in The Pit.

A win there would send the Lobos into the quarterfinals against either South Dakota or Michigan State, a game that would likely be played Sunday or Monday in Albuquerque. A win Thursday would also tie the school record with 26 in a single season.

“This time of year it’s just all about who wants to play more,” senior guard Cherise Beynon said. “Everyone is good now in the month of March, so our focus is to play with the same intensity as we did the first half [of Tuesday’s win over Rice].”

The Lobos used a 21-3 run to end any suspense in the game against the Owls, cruising to a school-record 93 points in a postseason game. Everything the Lobos did seemed to work, particularly on defense. They forced 22 turnovers and had 15 steals, holding the Rice offense at bay enough to open a big early lead and never relinquish it.

It also came with plenty of quality minutes from the team’s primary players. Riddled with foul trouble in the tournament’s opening round, the trio of Beynon, Nunn and guard Tesha Buck played a combined 97 minutes in the win over Rice and scored 66 points with 13 rebounds, 12 steals and eight assists between them.

Head coach Mike Bradbury said his team’s fortunes revolved

around those three stars, but it helps to get solid production from role players like N’Dea Flye, Laneah Bryan and Madi Washington. If everyone’s clicking and the Lobos are creating havoc with defensive pressure, it makes a deep run in the WNIT possible.

And there’s history there, too. The Lobos played for the tournament title 17 years ago and have had measured success with multiple wins in six of the seven trips they’ve made to the WNIT.

“We’re still playing, so that’s all that matters,” Bradbury said.

Tuesday’s game drew 3,302 fans, and Bradbury is hoping for considerably more than that against the Horned Frogs, the fifth-place team out of the Big 12 during the regular season.

“Frankly, I want more,” Nunn said when she saw the crowd number against Rice. “The crowd was phenomenal. Hopefully this Thursday game will just keep them coming.”