How the Lobos and Redbirds match up
The stands were empty but things got a little bit loud Friday afternoon at the Pit.
University of New Mexico women’s basketball coach Mike Bradbury’s voice occasionally echoed through the arena as his players prepared for today’s home matchup with SMU. The Lobos (2-4) will be looking to snap a frustrating four-game slide, and Bradbury’s message Friday was delivered loud and clear.
“We need to play harder,” junior Jayda Bovero said. “We’ve got adversity coming our way with the schedule and just trying to mesh together with a new coach. But if we just play hard enough, give maximum effort, the rest will take care of itself.”
UNM may not be far from getting back on a positive track. The Lobos held fourth-quarter leads in three of their four defeats.
But close is not nearly good enough for Bradbury, who continues to try different lineup combinations and continues to push his team to play harder.
“We’ve just got to keep plugging along,” he said. “We’ve got to find enough people who care enough and want to play hard enough to get us over the hump. We’re still a work in progress but we may have had our two best days of practice this week. Hopefully, it’ll carry over to the game.”
The Lobos figure to need a big effort against SMU (5-2), which is off to a solid start under first-year coach Travis Mays. The Mustangs feature size, depth and experience, with a roster that is composed of largely juniors and seniors.
“SMU is the best team we’ve played so far,” Bradbury said, “and the schedule’s not doing us any favors right now. After SMU we’ve got Minnesota and UTEP, so it’s a tough stretch. The biggest thing we’re focused on is getting better.”
Job one today is trying to keep SMU’s talented front line from controlling the paint and the pace. Led by 6-foot-3 forward Alicia Froling, the Mustangs have consistently won rebounding battles and beaten a path to the foul line. They’ve gone 113-for173 on free throws (65.3 percent) this season.
UNM, meanwhile, has hurt its cause with free-throw shooting. The Lobos are 78-for-140 at the line (55.7 percent) despite working on foul shots at every practice. Bovero was one of several players who stayed after practice for extra shooting Friday.
“Free-throw shooting is mostly between the ears,” Bradbury said. “All I know to do is keep working on it, but we have to get better.”
The Lobos also hope to get more balanced point production today. Post Richelle van der Keijl and point guard Cherise Beynon combined for 43 points in UNM’s 77-70 loss at New Mexico State on Wednesday. They scored 24 of UNM’s 30 points in the second half.
UNM missed junior guard Alex Lapeyrolerie, who sat out the game with a sore knee and remains questionable. Lapeyrolerie averages 11.6 points per game and leads the team with 16 3-pointers.
“She’s getting closer,” Bradbury said, “but we don’t have a definite time for when she’ll be ready. I hope it’s sooner rather than later.”