A season of high expectations for junior center Jordan Adams of the UNM women's basketball team turned out to be one of inconsistency and frustration.
Although she led the team in scoring for the third straight season and guided the Lobos to their second NCAA Tournament appearance, Adams failed to become the offensive catalyst and go-to player UNM so desperately needed.
"I do need to step up," Adams said. "I haven't been playing well the last month and a half; I don't know what it is or why it happened. I just need to pick it up for next year."
Head coach Don Flanagan said before the season that he thought Adams had the potential to become an All-American. But after struggling through much of the second half of the season, Flanagan wonders if she will ever reach her full potential.
"It's all mental, I think, with Jordan," he said. "We all know she is capable of (becoming a great player). It's just a matter of her deciding that's what she wants."
Adams came into the season with an impressive resume. She was named the Mountain West Conference Newcomer of the Year her freshman season and second-team all-conference selection last year. Before this season she earned a try-out for the USA Basketball national team during the summer. She competed against several All-Americans and some of the best women basketball players in the world, and held her own.
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Those types of accomplishments raised fans expectations about how good a player Adams should become.
Adams looked like she learned from her experiences and wanted to be an All-American through much of the first half of the year. During the Lobos' first 17 games, Adams excelled on the offensive end, scoring 16.8 points per game while making 47 percent of her field goal attempts, and hitting double figures in every game. She led the team in scoring in 13 games, including scoring 24 points twice.
But she floundered down the stretch, averaging 10.3 points per game on 35 percent shooting from the field in the team's last 14 games, including the Mountain West Conference and NCAA Tournaments. The team's most explosive offensive performer scored in double figures only six times during that stretch.
"All players need to make a commitment to the game and the commitment to success," Flanagan said. "When she learns to make that commitment, I am sure she is going to be just fine because she is talented."
Adams' struggles hindered the Lobos' ability to score on a consistent basis, which meant they lost their focus offensively for lengthy periods of time during a game.
That was especially evident in Friday's 58-44 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Adams started strong, scoring three points in the first three minutes. But she turned the ball over twice and failed to hustle for a loose ball, so the center was banished to the bench. Adams played only eight minutes and scored five points in the first half.
"I did try hard and I felt positive the whole game," Adams said. "I made a couple of mistakes I really shouldn't have and it got me down a little bit."
Her teammates picked her up, however, as UNM got solid contributions from its bench to take a 33-30 halftime lead after shooting 52 percent. Sophomore forward Melissa Forest scored 12 points, while junior forward Daja Adams and freshman guard Stephanie Shaw played tough defense.
But it was a different story offensively for the Lobos after taking a 39-36 lead with 15:11 left in the game. UNM missed 17 straight shots, going scoreless for 12:13 in the half as the Irish scored the next 15 points to take a commanding 51-39 lead.
Jordan Adams' offensive prowess was sorely missed during that stretch as she struggled to get position inside and when she did get the ball, found it hard to get good looks at the basket. With the Lobos' most dangerous player non-existent, UNM had trouble finding someone else to take the scoring initiative.
"I'm not going to say I am disappointed in my teammate; Jordan has been there for us all year whether it's scoring or blocking shots," senior Molly McKinnon said. "Every now and then it is nice to see her scoring, but (Friday) just wasn't her night. She has another year and summer to work on her game to come back stronger."
Adams played only five minutes in the second half, scoring two points. Her night got worse when she left the game with five minutes remaining in the game after hyper-extending her right knee during a skirmish for a rebound. Adams finished with seven points and one rebound in 13 minutes.
Flanagan said he thinks Adams and fans put too much of the team's success and failure on the center's shoulders because she is the most recognizable Lobo.
"There's probably a lot of pressure in our area because we have so many fans and so much interest and she's so talented," he said.
Adams said she does not know why she struggled so much at the end of the year, but added that she is going to work hard in the off-season to improve her consistency next year.
"I don't care what people think of me anymore," she said. "I have a year left. I didn't do well this year; I have nothing to lose."
