The University of Nevada at Las Vegas used a one-two punch to knock out the UNM women's basketball team 62-53 Sunday afternoon to open the Mountain West Conference.
That punch came in the form of Rebels guard Constance Jinks' 25 points and All-American candidate forward Linda Frohlich's 20 points and 14 rebounds.
The Lobos (11-4, 0-1 in the Mountain West Conference) could not answer the Jinks and Frohlich duo, shooting four-of-29 from 3-point range and 28 percent from the field in the first half. The Lobos' struggles were in large part due to a relentless Rebel (13-1, 0-1) zone defense.
UNM head coach Don Flanagan said the team was hurt by its shooting and inability to stop Jinks and Frohlich.
"The problem was we didn't score," Flanagan said.
UNLV head coach Regina Miller said the Rebels are normally a man-to-man team but because of the talent of Lobo center Jordan Adams, the team converted to a zone to shut down the middle.
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"Jordan has and probably will be the center of attention," Miller said.
The Lobos did, however, have their chances to earn their first conference win at home. Down by 11 at the beginning of the second half the Lobos went on a 9-0 run capped by a 3-pointer by Adams, who had a team high 15 points, closing the gap to 43-40. UNM scraped at the deficit, utilizing free throws from both forward Lindsay Arndt and guard Molly McKinnon.
Jinks quickly changed the momentum with a slick drive to the basket. The UNLV lead grew to 50-41 after guard Kinesha Davis drained a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key. Arndt answered back, grabbing her own rebound and putting it back for two to close the gap to 50-43. The lead grew to 11 for a second time at 54-43 with just under six minutes remaining.
The Lobos tried to fight back, implementing a full court defense and quick foul tactics, but the Rebels controlled the ball and the Jinks-Frohlich duo sank four free throws to put the game out of reach.
Adams said the Lobos were not aggressive enough attacking the basket.
"I think we were too patient," she said. "We passed the ball around a lot and didn't attack."
Jinks was unstoppable from the start, scoring all of the Rebels' 11 points in the game's first six minutes and helping build an early 27-18 lead. The Lobos caught their breath after chasing Jinks for most of the first half and pulled within two points at 27-25 on guard Stephanie Shaw's free throws. Those free throws would be the last Lobo score of the half as UNLV went on a 9-0 run to head into the locker room with its biggest lead of the game at 36-25. The Lobos' comeback was halted by the foul trouble of Adams, who sat out the final 9:37 of the first half with two fouls and four points.
The Rebels were helped by a foul at the halftime buzzer when UNLV forward Sherry McCracklin was fouled shooting an off balance shot by Lobo guard Cristal Garcia. McCracklin added to the Rebels' lead by making one of two free throws in front of an irate Lobo crowd.
Flanagan said the Lobos did well defensively, with their goal being to hold UNLV to 61 points.
UNM held the Rebels to 39.6 percent shooting and created 18 turnovers. The only player to shoot above 50 percent for the Rebels was Davis, who went two-for-two from the field.
The Lobos finished shooting 32.8 percent for the game and shot only 10 free throws, making five.
Flanagan said his team's hopes for a conference title were not completely crushed after Sunday's game, but that winning all remaining home games is very important.
