University of New Mexico women’s basketball winning streak comes to an abrupt halt

University of New Mexico women’s basketball winning streak comes to an abrupt halt, 105-63, at Oklahoma Saturday after setting program record by winning its first 11 games

Everything went right for the Big 12 Sooners as they led from the start and led by 52 entering the fourth quarter

By ARNIE LESHIN, Santa Fe Today

It wasn’t so much that the University of New Mexico’s women’s basketball unbeaten streak came to an end, it was embarrassing by the way it came to a screeching stop.

For the Lobos, it might have been a nice trip to Norman, Okla., but what followed after taking the court Saturday night against the Sooners was an unexpected 105-63 whooping that was 56-25 at the half and 92-40 after three quarters.

For a team that had set a school record for the program with 11 wins in a row, for a team that had scored over 100 points twice and three times over 90, this was by far its lowest total of this impressive season that ran into a roadblock against Oklahoma of the Big 12, Oklahoma that is now at 5-5 and in a three-way tie for eighth place in the standings.

So to make matters worse for the women from Albuquerque, this wasn’t even the conference’s best team, but it sure played well before the home crowd.

The Sooners outrebounded UNM, 60-30, shot 47.1 from the field to UNM’s 27.4, and the Lobos committed 23 turnovers, eight coming from 5-foot-10 senior point guard Cherise Beynon, who was held to a season-low five points.

Whereas UNM’s tallest player is 6-3 junior post Jaisa Nunn, Oklahoma has a trio of 6-4s, a pair of 6-3s, and one 6-2, and they dominated the boards. And led by 5-9 junior guard Gieya Penzo, who handed out 11 assists, the Sooner guards put together enough pressure on defense to throw the UNM offense into confusion.

Up to now, the Lobos’ schedule included 16^th ranked Marquette, who they defeated 88-87, and Illinois of the Big 10, who they had no problem with, plus they also defeated state-rival New Mexico State twice.

The top scorer for UNM was 5-11 senior guard Alex Laperyrolene, who tossed in 18. Martha Burleson added 14.

For the Sooners, 6-foot freshman Andrea Lanley had the game-high 27 points and 5-9 senior guard Gabby Ortiz scored 25. Maddy Manning, a 6-2 senior, came away with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Wednesday, the Lobos are home to Lamar University, which is 5-4 but has played a tough slate.