The Lobos (11-9, 4-5) look to rebound after a disappointing showing in Las Vegas against UNLV, where they lost 57-48. The 48 points scored continues the disappointing offense that the Lobos have had for much of the season. The only bright spot for the Lobos was freshman post Jaisa Nunn, who finished the game with 14 points (7-10 FGs) and grabbed 9 rebounds. The Lobos only shot 30.6% from the floor, which won’t win many games. The continued struggle on offense from the Lobos has brought up questions about the team and the expectations that the team had at the beginning of the year. While I do think the season has been a disappointment so far, I do believe that there is still a chance for this team to get better and show promise for next season. Unfortunately, although it’s not impossible, at this point I think that it is a long shot for the Lobos to make a run in Mountain West Tournament.
Author: Zach
Women’s Basketball at UNLV Preview
The Lobos (11-8, 4-4) are back in action Wednesday night, when they head to Las Vegas, for a rematch with UNLV (12-8, 5-4) at Cox Pavilion. The Lobos won the first meeting at WisePies Arena AKA The PIT 67-53, a game that saw four of the Lobo starters score in double figures, highlighted by Khadijah Shumpert’s 18 points and 9 rebounds. The first meeting was a back and forth game for the first three quarters, but the Lobos used a 20-10 fourth quarter to win by 14 points. It is important for the Lobos to take care of the ball again in this game, and find contributions from multiple players. The Lobos need to find a comfort level with each other and play for each other, especially after their disappointing home loss against BSU.
Women’s Basketball vs. Boise State Preview
The Lobos (11-7, 4-3) continued their winning ways against Air Force on Wednesday night with a 63-33 win. While there isn’t much to take away from the game for the Lobos, as they clearly outclassed the Falcons, they were able to play everyone minutes and keep anyone from playing more than 22 minutes. The Lobos will have a huge step up in competition today when they take on third-place Boise State Broncos (13-6, 6-2). This is a rematch of last year’s Mountain West Tournament Title Game, which was won by the Broncos. This is a very important home game for the Lobos to help with seeding, especially as it is becoming more unlikely that the Lobos will be able to challenge for the regular season title with Fresno State and Colorado State both still being undefeated in league play.
Women’s Basketball at Air Force Preview
The Lobos (10-7, 3-3) head to Colorado Springs to take on the Air Force Falcons (0-18, 0-7) after coming off a much-needed 71-57 win Saturday against SJSU. While there are still questions that need to be answered for the Lobos if they are going to challenge for the league title, they were able to play much better on the offensive side of the ball. The biggest concern for the Lobos after the game was the 22 turnovers they committed, which won’t do against better teams. There were some bright spots in the game, as Cherise Beynon finished with a double-double with 17 points (7-17 FGs), 10 rebounds, and 4 assists and Khadijah Shumpert had a very productive offensive game, finishing with 16 points (7-9 FGs) and 9 rebounds. Shumpert was again limited in her minutes due to foul trouble, only getting 20 minutes of action. The Lobos were also able to get good production from Whitney Johnson (11 points and 7 rebounds) and from freshman Jannon Otto, who finished with 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Women’s Basketball vs. San Jose State Preview
The Lobos (9-7, 2-3) return to action after their second and last bye of the Mountain West schedule to take on the San Jose State Spartans (6-12, 4-3). This is a very important home game for the Lobos, as they have struggled offensively since the Minnesota game over a month ago and could use a good performance on that end of the court to build up some confidence and momentum. Hopefully the Lobos were able to make adjustments during the week and will be able to get their offensive attack back on track. SJSU could be just the team the Lobos need to get this done, as the Spartans are giving up almost 80 point per game. A key to the offense will getting Jaisa Nunn back to where she was before the concussion, when she was the Lobos third-leading scorer behind Khadijah Shumpert and Cherise Beynon. The Lobos also need to get production from the second wing position as well as the bench, which they certainly have the potential to do. If the Lobos are able to answer these questions, there is still time for the Lobos to make noise in the Mountain West.
Mountain West Women’s Basketball Update
We are now in the fourth week of Mountain West women’s basketball season, with teams having played either five or six games entering play Wednesday night. This marks about a third of the season for the teams and we are starting to be able to see how the conference will shake out. There is still plenty of time for teams to move up in the standings, as with the way teams’ schedules are and just the nature of the sport, it is possible to see multiple teams to go on long winning streaks. The Lobos are in a tough spot being 2-3, but with a 1-1 record at home and 1-2 record on the road they still have a chance to finish in the top part of the conference. One thing that needs to happen for the Lobos to have a chance to win the regular season crown is they need to get their offense going, or this season will not go as well as we had hoped.
Women’s Basketball at Wyoming Preview
The Lobos (9-6, 2-2) return to action on Saturday afternoon, when they head to Laramie, Wyoming to take on the Wyoming Cowgirls (9-6, 2-3). After struggling with their offense since the win at Minnesota, the Lobos were able to get good offensive production from their three leaders in their game against UNLV. While the offensive production was great, the Lobos also got back to being a great defensive team after a couple disappointing games. The Lobos need to build off their win against UNLV and pick up some road wins if they want to get back to the top of the conference standings. The Lobos are not a perfect team, but they will have a chance to win the conference if they bring energy and defense to every single game. Cherise Beynon has been playing fantastic on both sides of the ball and has been the Lobos’ most consistent player. In the end, the Lobos finish in the conference will determined by the play of Khadijah Shumpert. If she can be a first-team all-MW player that is a force in every single game, I like the Lobos chances in pretty much every game.
Women’s Basketball: UNLV Game Preview
The Lobos (8-6, 1-2) will return to action Wednesday night, seeking to end an unusual home losing streak. A year after going undefeated at home in conference play, the Lobos started their home conference slate with an OT loss to FSU, which was their second straight loss at home. The Lobos find themselves in an interesting spot with their back to back losses, needing to go on a long winning streak to get back into the conference regular season championship discussion. In order for the Lobos to reach their peak as a team, they need to find a way to have consistent offensive production, as they haven’t had a great offensive game since the Minnesota road win.
Women’s Basketball at Utah State Preview
After a week off, the Lobos (8-5, 1-1) head to Logan Utah to take on the Utah State Aggies (6-8, 1-2). This is a big game for the Lobos, as after falling to FSU in double overtime at home last Saturday, the Lobos need to make up for lost ground by winning on the road. While the Aggies don’t have the best record in the Mountain West, they are a very dangerous team with the possible conference player of the year on their roster. The Lobos can’t take this game lightly and must find a way to put pressure on the Aggies’ defense.
Women’s Basketball Fresno State Recap
Saturday afternoon’s game for the Lobos was not kind to the offense, as they struggled to get any production on that end besides the 40 combined points from Khadijah Shumpert and Cherise Beynon. Still, the Lobos were able to take the game to two overtimes before falling 69-65 to the Fresno State Bulldogs (6-7, 2-0). This was the Lobos’ first conference home loss since the name change to WisePies Arena and their third straight home loss, which puts them at 8-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play. To me, the obvious thing is that the Lobos need to get Jaisa Nunn back or it could remain a challenge for the Lobos to score.
Game Recap
The first quarter was not pretty for the Lobos, as they only mustered 7 points in the quarter on only 2 made field goals. While the offense was not good, the Lobo defense was good enough to hold the Bulldogs to 15 points in the quarter. The Lobos were lucky enough to only be down eight at the end of the quarter, where a second quarter run would have the Lobos neck and neck with the Bulldogs. The Lobos did respond in the second quarter with even better defense than the first quarter holding the Bulldogs to only 7 points, but the Lobo offense continued to struggle, scoring only 11 points in the quarter to make the score 22-18 at half time. The Lobos were 6 for 30 in the first half for 20% shooting, but they were able to stay in the game because their defense limited the Bulldogs to 5 of 18 from the floor for 27.8% and the Lobos also forced 11 turnovers in the half.
Out of halftime, the Bulldogs were able to find the holes in the Lobo defense but weren’t able to create any separation for the first part of the quarter as the two teams traded baskets. With 4:16 left in the quarter, the Lobos were able to get to within one point of the Bulldogs at 31-30, but the Bulldogs then went on a 9-0 run to take a 40-30 lead with less than a minute left in the quarter. Beynon was able to hit a three-pointer to stop the bleeding and make the score 40-33 at the end of the quarter, which meant that the Lobos were still within shouting distance. The start of the fourth quarter wasn’t good for the Lobos, as they didn’t score in the first 3:14, but again the Lobos defense was good enough to only allow 4 points during that span. The Lobos needed to get the offense going to have a chance to come back and win the game and the Lobos did just that, finally. Down 46-36 with 5:37 left in the game, it looked like the Lobos had a very small chance to come back in the game, but the Lobos defense was stout the last 5:37 and didn’t allow single point. This allowed the Lobos offense to go on a 10-0 run to close out regulation tied at 46 and send the game to overtime. The Lobos shooting continued to struggle, as they were 11 for 35 from the floor to 31.4%, and besides the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs offense played much better in the second half, shooting 11 for 27 from the floor for 40.7%.
The first overtime period gave the Lobos a chance to create some separation from the Bulldogs when they were able to jump out to a five point lead just a little over a minute into the period. The Bulldogs were able to make up the difference over that period to tie the score at 58 with 26 seconds left. The Lobos had the ball the chance to take the last shot of the period and Beynon got to the basket with just under 10 seconds left. Unfortunately, the ball touched every inch of the rim but rolled out. Luckily, the Bulldogs were able to grab the rebound but weren’t able to control the ball, turning it back over to the Lobos with 6 seconds left. So, with another chance to win the game, the Lobos weren’t able to get a shot off, turning the ball over and ending the period, sending the game to second overtime tied at 58.
The result of the game in the second overtime became apparent after Shumpert fouled out in the first minute of the period, with her fouling a three-point shooter. The Lobos were able to keep contact with the Bulldogs and gave themselves a chance to tie the game with 30 seconds left, but a missed layup. This allowed made free throws by the Bulldogs to give them the quality road win and giving the Lobos a tough home loss to hurt their chances of winning the conference. The Lobos finally got their offense going in the overtime periods, as they were 6 of 13 from the floor for 46.2%, but the Lobo defense couldn’t stop the Bulldog attack, allowing them to go 6 of 10 from the floor for 60%.
Players of the Game
As with the men’s team, we will give three Players of the Game with the same breakdown as the men. (3 points for first, 2 points for second, and 1 point for third).
- Khadijah Shumpert (19 points on the season): This was another great game from Shumpert, as she was the only steady offensive force in the second half. While she didn’t get that involved in the first half, her second half and overtime performance was outstanding. Shumpert finished the game with 23 points (8-15 FG, 7-8 FT), 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.
- Cherise Beynon (21 points on the season): While Beynon struggled from the floor, she did finish with a double-double and gave the Lobos a chance to win the game when the offense was struggling. Beynon finished with 17 points (6-19 FG, 2-8 3PFG, 3-6 FT), 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
- Whitney Johnson (2 points on the season): While she will never be a huge part of the offensive attack, Johnson played well at the center position while Jaisa Nunn is sidelined at the current moment. Johnson finished with 6 points (3-8 FG), 4 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals.
Conference Standings
- FSU 2-0
- SJSU 2-0
- CSU 1-0
- Wyoming 1-1
- UNM 1-1
- SDSU 1-1
- USU 1-1
- BSU 0-1
- UNLV 0-1
- AFA 0-1
- Nevada 0-2
The big surprise so far this season is SJSU, who were 2-9 in their non-conference schedule and have already matched that win total. CSU is still the favorite and the only reason they aren’t number 1 in the standings is because they haven’t played two conference games yet.
Picks
I went 3-2 on my picks Saturday to improve to 4-5 on the season. I hope that this week turns out better than last.
BSU vs. USU
AFA vs. WYO
Nevada vs. FSU
UNLV vs. CSU
SJSU vs. SDSU
Up Next
The Lobos will not have a mid-week game this week, which gives them a full week to prepare for a road game against Utah State. While Utah State’s home crowd for their men’s team is one of the best crowds in the country, it is nowhere as tough for the women’s team. The Lobos will have to play with great energy and hopefully the week off will allow the Lobos to solve some of the offensive struggles they have had recently.