Vicky McIntyre, the Golden Eagles’ 6-foot-7 redshirt senior center, has 508 rebounds this season, which is sixth best all-time in NCAA history for a single season. Only nine players have eclipsed the 500-rebound plateau in a single season.
“You can’t make it easy on her because she is awfully good,” head coach Yvonne Sanchez said. “She gets a double-double almost every game.”
Sanchez said she is confident in the Lobos’ ability to contain the big presence down low through the squad’s familiarity with the tall posts of Nevada and Wyoming.
The key to UNM’s success will be based on the guard’s ability to pressure the ball so it won’t be easy for them to lob the ball to McIntyre, ORU’s leading scorer, Sanchez said. McIntyre averages 15.7 points and 15.9 boards per game.
“They’ve got a lot of guards, they like to drive, and they’ve got that 6-7 post player who is good around the rim,” junior Khadijah Shumpert said. “We’ve got some work cut in for us.”
New Mexico will take on ORU (17-15) with one of its top defenders on the block recovering from an injury. Lobo junior forward Alexa Chavez sustained a knee injury in Wednesday night’s 54-51 victory over North Dakota, and she missed practice all week. Sanchez said she expects Chavez be in the starting five despite that, but said she is not going to take any risks if Chavez doesn’t feel fit to play.
If Chavez is unable to go tonight or has limited playing time, sophomore forward Kianna Keller will likely take the bulk of Chavez’s minutes.
Sanchez has been fortunate to have a relatively healthy roster all season long with no player missing more than three games throughout the year. However, the head coach said UNM will need to overcome injuries that come along with playing an extended season in the WBI.
“We want to be postseason participants every year. Obviously, the goal is to play in the NCAAs,” Sanchez said. “If they get used to playing in the postseason and understanding how long the year is, this is how hard they will have to work.”
Shumpert said the squad is glad to still be playing. She said last Wednesday’s win — the first in the postseason since 2010 — is just another step toward the Lobos continuing their season.
“So many teams are done and completely out of it,” Shumpert said. “They can’t practice, they can’t play, and I think we’re just really exited we get to keep playing.”
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Regardless of whether New Mexico (21-12) wins tonight, it will be the final game in Johnson Center following a Professional Bull Riders tour event that took place at WisePies Arena.
“Johnson Gym, the facilities, and the people who run this place have been exceptional to us,” Sanchez said. “If we’re fortunate enough and we win, then we’ll be ready to get back into The Pit.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is the Assistant Sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at assistantsports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
