by ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team rained 3-pointers upon Illinois to the tune of a school-record 18 and the Fighting Illini could do nothing about it as the Lobos won the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament f,or the first time since 2008 with a 97-68 victory Sunday afternoon in front of 4,600-plus at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit.
The Lobos (7-0), who smashed the school-record of 15 3-pointers in a game last reached in 2003, scored 63 second-half points thanks to 10 3-pointers in the final two quarters to turn a 34-29 lead at the half into a 29-point victory over Illinois (5-3). The Lobos outscored the Fighting Illini 84-49 over the final three quarters.
“It seemed like we made all our threes,” UNM coach Mike Bradbury said. “It got contagious and, unfortunately it can get contagious the other way too. Tesha (Buck) got us going and hit a bunch early and then Alex (Lapeyrolerie) strung a bunch together. Then, the next thing you know, everyone is throwing them in.”
The victory was also a milestone for Bradbury as he picked up his 200th career victory in just his 11th season as a head coach (200-132 – .602 winning percentage).
Tesha Buck (Mdewakanton Sioux), named the tournament MVP, led the Lobos with 21 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. She was 5-for-7 from long distance and is now shooting 46.8 percent from 3-point range (22-for-47).
“I thought we shot the ball well,” Buck said. “There were a few other games we haven’t gotten them to fall. Most of the shots were in-rhythm threes and that’s what coach wants us to shoot. So they were going in and it was feeling good.”
Alex Lapeyrolerie tied her career high with six 3-pointers as she finished with 20 points. The six 3-pointers is tied for the third-most in UNM history with 12 other players – two off the record of eight.
Overall, the Lobos shot 54.5 percent (18-for-33) from 3-point range in the game. The 18 3-pointers is tied for the third most in Mountain West history and the most since the 2014-15 season.
UNM found itself behind after the first quarter as Illinois built a 19-13 advantage heading into the second quarter. The Lobos still trailed 29-27 when Lapeyrolerie drained a 3-pointer to give the Lobos the lead for what turned out to be for good with 3:16 remaining in the second. It also ignited a 7-0 run to end the half as freshman N’Dea Flye drilled a 3-pointer and sank a free throw in the final minute to give the Lobos a 34-29 edge at the half (UNM outscored Illinois 21-10 in the quarter).
“We played that first half at their tempo,” Bradbury said. “That wasn’t going to work and we had to get that changed.”
And the Lobos did get it changed as UNM opened the second half on a 14-3 run that included seven points from Flye, a 3-pointer from Buck and four points from Jaisa Nunn to balloon the lead to 16 points at 48-32. Flye stepped up as well for the Lobos, finishing with a career-high 12 points and five assists to go along with four rebounds and two steals.
Illinois never got within 13 points the rest of the contest as UNM increased its lead to as large as 31 in the fourth before coming away with the 29-point victory.
Along with the big games from Buck, Lapeyrolerie and Flye, Cherise Beynon had 12 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals while Nunn had 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists as the Lobos assisted on 27 of their 34 baskets. It’s the second time this season the Lobos have had five players finish in double figures. The 97 points is their second-highest total of the season and the sixth time they’ve scored 80 or more points (averaging 89.3 points per game).
The Lobos will hit the road for the first time Thursday as they take on fellow undefeated UTEP (4-0) at 5:30 p.m. in El Paso.
