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Rough week: Lobo women miss postseason, lose six to transfer portal

ken sickenger, albuquerque journal, n.m.
·4 min read

Mar. 18—Selection Sunday and Transfer Portal Monday were part of a rough week for the University of New Mexico women's basketball team.

Coming off a quarterfinal loss to San Diego State in the Mountain West tournament, the Lobos (21-11) did not receive a bid to either the NCAA Tournament or the new WBIT. UNM administration opted not to accept an invitation to play in the condensed WNIT.

The early ending meant earlier-than-usual exit meetings for coach Mike Bradbury and his players. As a result, six Lobos, including starter Paula Reus, joined Monday's massive first wave of players entering the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Also entering were reserves Nahawa Diarra Berthe, Natalia Chavez, Mackenzie Curtis, Jaelyn Bates and Hannah Robbins.

"Paula wants to transfer up and the others want to play more," Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said. "This is the way it's going to be every year now with the transfer portal. We thank these kids for their hard work and wish them all the best."

UNM did not have a senior without remaining eligibility on its roster in 2023-34, but now has numerous holes to fill. Most significant will be replacing Reus, who played extensive minutes in each of her first three seasons and started 30 games as a junior.

She averaged 11.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

"Paula and I had a great talk," Bradbury said. "I imagine she'll have an opportunity to play for a really high-level program. She's been a great player for us and I appreciate her staying here for three years."

Diarra Berthe, Chavez and Curtis played sparingly this season, averaging 1.5, 1.8 and 2.0 points, respectively. Diarra Berthe was a junior college transfer, while Chavez was a freshman and Curtis was a sophomore after both took redshirt seasons in 2022-23.

Robbins (also a redshirt freshman) and Bates (sophomore) did not finish the season with UNM. Robbins departed after three games to seek more playing time elsewhere. Bates appeared in eight games, the last on Jan. 31, before leaving the team for what Bradbury called "personal reasons." Chavez and Bates are Volcano Vista High School graduates. Bates and Robbins announced their portal entries Monday on social media.

The departures leave UNM with nine players on next season's roster: seniors Nyah Wilson, Aniyah Augmon, Viané Cumber, Charlotte Kohl, Hulda Joaquim, sophomores Lara Langermann, Paris Lauro, redshirt freshman Gianna McManaman and incoming freshman Reza Po.

Bradbury said UNM is in the process of recruiting and he expects to add several transfers in the coming weeks.

"Every team is going to lose kids and there's a ton of movement," he said. "That's the state of the game. You have to approach building a roster from year to year now. That's what we've been doing for the last few days and it's just getting started."

GAME OVER: With the NCAA-sponsored WBIT changing the landscape, UNM was one of numerous teams to miss the postseason despite strong credentials. Mountain West teams San Diego State (22-13), New Mexico (21-11) and Colorado State (20-11) did not choose to participate in the pay-to-play WNIT. Boise State (21-13) and Wyoming (16-14) accepted bids to compete in the condensed 48-team tournament with five rounds scheduled over the next two weeks.

UNM would be unable to host games at the Pit for at least two rounds because the annual PBR Ty Murray Invitational is set for this week. Athletic director Eddie Nuñez said he does not favor paying to enter postseason tournaments that are "not considered among the top two."

Bradbury called missing the postseason for the second time in his eight UNM seasons disappointing.

"I think we overachieved and had a great year," he said. "I'm proud of my team."

Regular-season and tournament champ UNLV was the only MWC team to make either of the NCAA-sponsored brackets as a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Power conference teams filled 34 of 36 at-large berths in that 68-team bracket.

The WBIT, which gives automatic bids to regular-season league champs not invited to the NCAAs, also brought in 20 combined teams from the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12 and SEC. The field includes Illinois (14-15) and .500 Virginia and BYU squads.

With numerous schools opting out, the WNIT field includes six teams with losing records, including Wisconsin (13-16), Purdue (13-18) and Providence (13-20).