How the Trojans and Lobos match up
intensity match,” she said. “Fortunately we came out fighting a little bit more.”
UNM was coming off a poor defensive outing in Friday’s 77-62 loss at Houston. That would not be a problem Tuesday.
Sanchez’s team limited the Titans (2-7) to 27 percent shooting — a total boosted by Miles’ scoring flurry in the final seconds.
“I was very pleased with our defense,” Sanchez said, “and overall, I’ll take the effort. But we had (the Titans) in the low 30s with 56 seconds left. In that position you’ve got to finish strong and bury them.”
The Lobos’ bigger issue in the first half was finding a way to score themselves. After leading 15-10, UNM endured a stretch that included Halasz and Whitney Johnson missing the front end of one-and-one opportunities and a Caroline Durbin airball.
Fullerton responded with an 8-2 run and took a short-lived 18-17 lead. UNM regained a 21-18 edge by halftime, but it wasn’t exactly satisfying.
The answer, Sanchez and her players decided, was to get a bit more physical.
“It took a while to adjust because (the officials) let it go,” Sanchez said of the rough play. “They didn’t call hardly any off-ball fouls.”
But Lobo posts Jourdan Erskine, Khadijah Shumpert and Johnson began battling for position and calling for the ball after halftime. All three scored inside during a 16-5 run that gave UNM a 37-23 lead.
“In the first half we weren’t posting up strong,” said Erskine, who had seven points, eight rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes. “We realized they were switching on screens and leaving guards on us, so we had to get inside and take over.”
Two factors kept the Lobos from turning the game into a laugher: Fullerton’s penchant for offensive rebounds and poor New Mexico foul shooting.
At times the cold-shooting Titans seemed almost content to just throw the ball toward the rim and attack the backboards. They outrebounded the Lobos 45-41 overall and had a decisive 23-12 advantage on the offensive glass.
“Some of those crazy shots are definitely hard to rebound,” Erskine said, “but sometimes we got in a jumping game with them instead of boxing out.”
The Lobos finished 11-for20 from the foul line and were 4-for-11 at one point. They missed the front end of three one-and-ones.
Still, Sanchez was quick to emphasize the importance of finding a way to win. She lauded the play of point guard Bryce Owens, who had eight points, four assists and six steals in a team-high 36 minutes.