Now, a chance for Lobo women to move up, up, up
Schedule softens for regular season’s end
No time for a Saturday letdown.
That was the message coach Mike Bradbury delivered to his University of New Mexico women’s basketball team almost immediately after the Lobos finished off a hard-fought victory over Wyoming on Thursday night.
UNM hosts struggling San Jose State on Saturday, but it’s not a game the Lobos (16-11, 8-6 Mountain West) can afford to look past. New Mexico comes into the game in sixth place in the conference standings but just a game out of third in the loss column.
With four games remaining — three of them against the bottom three teams in the MWC standings — UNM has a prime opportunity to move up. That happens only if the Lobos take care of their own business.
“We’re not celebrating the (Wyoming) win,” Bradbury said. “We’ve had a few times this year where we lost on Thursday but put it behind us and won on Saturday. This time we need to have that same approach coming off a win, put it behind us and focus on winning Saturday.”
The Lobos would do well to sustain the focus they brought to Thursday’s victory, a backand-forth affair with 14 ties, 22 lead changes and unusually tight officiating.
UNM trailed early in the fourth quarter but outscored the Cowgirls 20-10 over the final six minutes.
“I was really proud of how our players stayed the course,” Bradbury said. “They never reacted to anything (Wyoming) did, didn’t react to calls, they just competed for the whole 40 minutes.”
A similar effort against San Jose State (3-22, 1-13) would likely lead the Lobos to a third straight win. Point guard LaTora Duff, who paced UNM with 20 points Thursday, said she and her teammates are focused on finishing the regular season on a high note.
“This is the time of year you have to stay together and pick each other up,” Duff said. “I know we’re all tired but these are the games that count the most. We have to bring our best effort.”
UNM’s first priority is to climb into the top five in the MWC standings. The top five finishers receive first-round byes at the conference tournament, but the Lobos have a legitimate chance to move up more than one notch.
While New Mexico finishes with four games against teams currently below it in the standings: SJSU, at Air Force, Utah State and at Fresno State, the teams the Lobos are chasing will be squaring off against one another.
On Saturday, for example, third-place Wyoming (10-5 MWC) visits second-place San Diego State (11-4), which sets up an opportunity for UNM to gain ground with a win.
Bradbury, as one might expect, is focused only on “the next game on the schedule,” in this case San Jose State. But he acknowledged that UNM’s closing schedule presents an intriguing opportunity.
Sophomore Paula Reus, who chipped in 13 points Wednesday and has been playing well coming off the bench of late, said playing at home should provide all the extra motivation UNM needs.
“I know the fans really help me,” she said. “They were getting loud (Wednesday) and I was hyped. They bring the energy and we can feed off it. That’s a big advantage for us playing here.”
Saturday’s matchup is UNM’s lone meeting with San Jose State this season. Because of the MWC’s unbalanced schedule, the Lobos also face Fresno State just once this season.