The Lobo women’s basketball team will look to get back on track as it hosts Southern Methodist on Saturday while honoring the Pit’s 50th anniversary, the second time the arena is being honored after the men’s team played earlier in the week.
New Mexico (2-4) won its first two games of the season decisively, but has dropped four in a row since that time. The team has struggled to close out games, fading most recently against in-state rival New Mexico State in a 77-70 loss on Wednesday.
UNM guard Cherise Beynon headlined a trio of Lobos that scored in double digits, leading the way with 22 points. After hitting just 17 percent of her shots from the floor, she overcame those shooting woes to connect on 9-of-19 (47 percent) Wednesday.
SMU (5-2) is riding the heels of a 65-51 triumph over North Texas and have won three of its last four games.
The Mustang’s forward, Alicia Froling, recorded her sixth straight double-double. She led all scorers with 23 points and also recorded a game-high 10 rebounds en route to the victory over North Texas.
New Mexico and SMU have squared off five times before, with the Lobos holding a slim 3-2 lead in the all-time series. The most recent meeting occurred last season, which resulted in a 63-58 Lobo victory, a release said.
The 50th anniversary event is expected to be filled with nostalgia as many of the iconic moments in the arena’s history are recalled. Fans can benefit from the venue’s promotion of offering tickets at the prevailing 1966 game price, and attend the game for a paltry $2, according to a release.
The Lobos are scoring an average of just over six more points per game than SMU, but are also surrendering about six more points on defense as well.
Head coach Mike Bradbury said he wasn’t happy with the way his team played down the stretch in the most recent postgame conference. The team hasn’t been putting things together for four quarters in the past several games.
New Mexico has had an especially difficult time closing out games. After outscoring opponents in the 4th quarter by a combined 20 points in the first two games, the Lobos have been outplayed in three of their last four, and have a -17 point differential in the final period over that stretch.
Bradbury’s fast-paced offense could serve the Lobos well if the team is able to get stops and push the action off rebounds.
Out-rebounding the Mustangs could be a big challenge for the Lobos, as neither team possesses a clear size advantage in the post. SMU has used its size to average a seven rebound advantage per game over its opponents so far this season.
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Senior transfer Richelle van der Keijl has been a workhorse in the paint, averaging 17 points per game (most of which are down on the blocks) and pulling down nearly 12 rebounds.
One of the biggest areas of concerns could be the turnover margin. The Lobos have coughed up the ball at a rate of nearly 16 turnovers per contest, and will need to limit their mistakes on offense if they want to increase the odds of a win.
The action tips off Saturday at WisePies Arena at 1 p.m. and will be carried on 610 AM radio.
Robert Maler is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers football and men’s and women’s tennis. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
