Despite the lopsided final score, head coach Mike Bradbury didn’t seem happy with his team’s- performance in its second and final exhibition against Eastern New Mexico University.
“For us, a very disappointing day,” Bradbury said. “Our preparation was poor leading into this game, our execution and our effort were poor during the game, which is generally what always happens. We’ve got a lot of work to do if we want to have any kind of success at all.”
The Lobos won easily, securing a 91-43 victory over the visiting Greyhounds, but the team’s offensive execution, or lack thereof, was the first on the list of things that appeared to bother Bradbury about his team.
“Our offense was pathetic,” Bradbury said. “We didn’t even run offense, we didn’t run anything that we’ve ever practiced.”
Shots were falling for the Lobos on Sunday, something that couldn’t be said about their effort against Lubbock Christian, but turnovers continued to be an issue. Aisia Robertson turned the ball over five times and the team had 18 total. She said that turnovers are the biggest thing she’ll be working on this week in preparation for the season opener.
“Last game I had seven turnovers, this game I had five; so I’m making progress,” Robertson said. “That’s going to be the biggest thing I’m going to focus on personally.”
She said that there are no excuses for the turnovers, and that at the end of the day she just needs to take care of the ball.
Jayla Everett was the best example of the Lobos making more shots, finishing with 20 to lead the team on 7-of-9 shooting after going 0-for-6 against LCU. Everett also took better care of the ball than some of the other guards, finishing with zero turnovers on the night.
“We’ve been practicing shooting our threes (in the Pit), we got a lot of reps down there, that was a big thing” Everett said. “Then getting to the right spot at the right time, also helped us out.”
Having a game under her belt and getting the nerves out of the way was also a big help to Everett, who said that she was much more relaxed than against LCU. After she hit her first shot, she said that she was able to just worry about the next play and helping out on defense.
The Lobos also benefited from a strong performance from graduate transfer Nike McClure, who finished with zero points, but also had five rebounds and five blocks, four of which came on three point attempts. Bradbury said that she was the Lobos best player, but with the added caveat of the bar being set pretty low.
Ahlise Hurst, a freshman from Australia who Bradbury has previously said is capable of being a 40-point shooter, also scored her first college points, finishing with six on 2-for-6 shooting.
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The Lobos were also without Emily Lines, a senior who scored four points against LCU, after Lines broke a finger on her shooting hand in practice approximately three or four days ago. Bradbury said that she will be out at least two weeks.
UNM will open its regular season on Friday, Nov. 9 against Texas State at 7 p.m. as part of the preseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
Cameron Goeldner is a sports beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s soccer, women’s basketball, softball and the Albuquerque Isotopes, but also contributes content for all other sports. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter
@goeldfinger.
