Up to the challenge? UNM women's basketball to face 5 power conference foes

The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team will be tested early and often next season.

The Lobos’ full 2025-26 schedule has not yet been released, but some intriguing bits and pieces are beginning to trickle out. UNM will take on five power conference opponents — two at home, two on the road and one at a neutral venue.

Houston and Texas Tech will visit the Pit this season (dates TBA), while the Lobos will travel to Colorado (Nov. 6) and Arizona (Dec. 7). UNM is guaranteed to face another power foe as part of a Thanksgiving tournament in Naples, Florida, but those matchups have not yet been announced.

Coach Mike Bradbury said UNM’s schedule will be the most challenging of his 11-year tenure. He believes this year’s Lobos will be up to it.

“I do,” he said. “If we can stay healthy, we have a good team. We wanted to challenge this group and playing five of our 11 (nonconference) games against power teams will do that. It gives us an opportunity to build our NET ranking, too.”

Colorado and Arizona have agreed to home-and-home series and both will play at the Pit in 2026-27, Bradbury said. UNM played at Texas Tech last season and will host the Lady Raiders in a return matchup. Houston is scheduled for just a single game.

The Lobos will open with two exhibition games, the first at home against Adams State on Oct. 22. UNM will follow up with a rare exhibition road game against a Division I foe at UT Arlington. The Mavericks will come to Albuquerque the following season, Bradbury said.

The rest of UNM’s preconference schedule is expected to be released in the coming days.

MORE MOUNTAIN WEST: Conference schedules for 2025-26 could be coming out later than usual, complicated by the recent announcement that Grand Canyon Univeristy will officially join the league this season.

MWC women’s basketball programs will play 20 regular-season conference games for the first time in 2025-26 after the men’s teams went from 18 league games to 20 last season. The change would have allowed teams to face each Mountain West foe twice.

The late addition of Grand Canyon means teams will instead play nine MWC opponents twice and two foes just once next season.

SUMMER WORKOUTS: Bradbury said he’s been pleased with the level of play at UNM’s summer workouts. The Lobos began their summer training sessions in June and will conclude them July 29.

Ten of the 13 players on UNM’s roster have been full participants, including all six returnees (Destinee Hooks, Alyssa Hargrove, Joana Magalhães, Nayli Padilla, Drew Jordon and Clarissa Craig), two freshmen (Kaia Foster and Tyler Jones) and two junior college transfers (Cacia Antonio and Jessie Joaquim).

“Everyone’s been good,” Bradbury said. “We’re definitely ahead of where we were last summer.”

Two players (freshman Laila Abdurraqib and sophomore Emma Najjuma) have been out of summer workouts due to injury, but Bradbury hopes to have both back when fall practice begins in late August. Freshman Leonor Peixinho is competing for Portugal in the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup and will join the Lobos in August. Peixinho had 16 points, six rebounds and four steals in a group win over Nigeria earlier this week.