Revenge can be a good motivator, and the UNM women's basketball team will try to use that extra push to avenge its only loss in Mountain West Conference play.
The Lobos suffered their worst shooting performance of the season in a conference-opening loss against the University of Nevada at Las Vegas 62-53 Jan. 6 in The Pit.
UNM (15-4, 4-1 in the conference) has not lost since and will try to extend its four-game winning streak against the Rebels Saturday on the road.
"We are playing really well right now," UNM assistant coach Dave Shoemate said. "We have been shooting well and the kids have been playing to the best of their abilities."
To continue their momentum, the Lobos will have to shoot better than they did the first time against the Rebels (14-3, 2-2). UNM shot a pathetic four-of-29 from the 3-point line for a frigid 14 percent.
The Lobos had trouble at times even hitting the rim, finishing with a season-low 32 percent from the field.
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The lack of shooting from the outside was due in large part to UNLV's two-three zone defense, which did an effective job of frustrating junior center Jordan Adams with constant double and triple teams, although she did finish with a team-high 15 points.
The whirlpool of players in the middle left the Lobos with numerous wide-open shots, but they could not take advantage.
Freshman point guard Mandi Moore had the worst performance of her brief Lobo career, throwing up a goose egg from the 3-point line, going zero-of-seven, finishing with two points on one-of-10 shooting.
"Mandi is a motivated, competitive person," Shoemate said. "She didn't shoot well, but she learned from it and has been playing really well since then."
Shoemate said he doesn't expect a repeat shooting performance from Moore or the team
"It doesn't concern us," he said. "That was only one game. We have been shooting better from the outside because we have been able to work with our zone offense."
Before the Jan. 6 game, UNM struggled from the outside, shooting only 29 percent.
But the Lobos have regrouped from the poor performance, connecting on 36 percent from beyond the arc since.
The Lobos also will have to contend with the dynamic duo of point guard Constance Jinks and Linda Frohlich of the Rebels.
Jinks and Frohlich - the only UNLV players averaging double figure points - combined to score 45 points against UNM. Jinks scored 25 points and continuously slipped into the lane for easy layups.
"We need to try and stay in front of her and not let her get transition shots," Shoemate said. "She hit a lot of tough shots in The Pit. We just need to try and contain her and Linda as much as we can."
Another thing the Lobos are concerned about is Adams, the team's leading scorer with 16 points a game.
She has had back problems in the past and they have flared up during the last couple of games.
After UNM's victory against San Diego State University 58-49 Wednesday, Shoemate said Adams was a little sore but should be fine for Saturday.
"It's an ongoing problem," he said. "It's a concern, but she is not in a great deal of pain. It tightens up on her when she sits down for an extended period during a game."
Saturday's game is at 8:30 p.m. and can be heard on 610 AM The Sports Animal.
