Don Flanagan hates to lose. And his team has lost three of its last five games, including a 92-47 annihilation at the hands of then-No. 3 Texas over a week ago.
That miserable afternoon was the last time the Lobos were on the game floor and tonight, they look to make New Mexico Highlands suffer at The Pit the way UNM did in Texas.
While UNM committed a season-high 20 turnovers and struggled to make 31 percent of its shots, the Longhorns hit on 56 percent of their attempts in the first half.
Junior forward Lindsey Arndt was the only Lobo to score in double figures, and most of her points came late in the second half when Texas' finest were resting on the bench.
"I knew it could happen because this is a very good Texas team," Flanagan said. "A team like that - which has got everybody back from the Final Four - they can beat you like that. We're a little bit inexperienced, and they took advantage of that."
Tonight, UNM is expected to take out its frustrations and dominate the Division II intrastate foe.
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But Flanagan said the only reason the Lobos are playing host to the Cowgirls is a broken verbal contract by a Division I team earlier in the year.
"This is the first time I've scheduled a D-II team in eight years," he said. "Out of everyone else, no one could come and play, and Highlands said they would come and play."
Although tonight's game is almost a guaranteed confidence-booster for the Lobos, Flanagan said the team has already bounced back from the stunning loss in Austin.
Senior forward Melissa Forest agreed.
"We got it handed to us in Texas, to put it bluntly," she said. "But we came back and played again the next day and we were fine."
Forest, who has four double-doubles this season, posted only two points and a rebound in Texas. She said practice has been productive this week and the Lobos are continuing to improve.
"We've been working on establishing better position and going hard to the basket," she said. "As a team, we're starting to offensively come together. Defensively, we haven't done very well."
The Cowgirls are coming to town riding a two-game winning streak including wins over Colorado Christian University and the Colorado School of Mines, improving their record to 4-7. New Mexico Highlands beat Oklahoma Panhandle State twice earlier this season.
Highlands brings two players averaging double figures in scoring in Terry Salazar (10.7 ppg) and Tarah Podpa (11.6 ppg).
For UNM, Arndt is averaging 10.7 points per game, while Forest is the next leading scorer averaging 8.3.
Winter break was tough for the Lobos, but Flanagan is confident the remainder of the season will be bright for them if they stay focused and determined.
"We've got to play hard," he said. "That's just what we've got to do. If we play hard, good things are going to happen no matter who we play from now on. We don't have anybody on our schedule who is unbeatable."
