The UNM women's basketball team used a 39-1 run to defeat the Air Force Falcons in convincing fashion 79-31.
The Lobos (14-7, 6-2) started the game off a little sluggish by turning the ball over and missing easy shots. Air Force (3-18, 0-8) had the lead a few times during the game, the last being a brief 12-10 edge early in the first half.
Falcon guard Shawna Neff came out on fire, scoring seven of the Falcons' first nine points. UNM clamped down on Neff, holding the senior guard to two points the rest of the game.
"(Neff) is an aggressive, strong player," UNM head coach Don Flanagan said. "She's a little bit of a match-up problem so when we got to the zone, we were conscious of where she was."
Air Force's leading scorer heading into the game, Letricia Castillo, was held scoreless by UNM.
The Lobos also picked up their overall defensive pressure and converted 22 Air Force turnovers into 25 points. UNM outscored Air Force 24-1 to end the first half and 39-1 in a 17:24 stretch overall.
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"We came out, and we weren't playing our best, but it's the test of a team," junior guard Mandi Moore said. "If you could pull through that, then you're OK. We kind of settled down and started playing our type of basketball, and we pulled away from them."
Moore played her best game of the season, leading all scorers with 20 points to go along with game-leading totals of 11 rebounds and nine assists. All three totals are season highs for Moore. Coach Flanagan said he was aware that Moore was one assist away from a triple-double and kept her in the game as long as possible to achieve the feat.
Two other Lobos, Fatima Maddox and Melissa Forest, scored in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. The freshman Maddox turned in one of her finest performances of the season. Along with her point production, Maddox constantly put defensive pressure on the Falcons' guards. Maddox said she is feeling more and more comfortable as the season goes on.
"Before, I was worried about a lot of things like turning the ball over," Maddox said. "But now I'm just settled down, and when I go out, I just do what I know how to do, and that's just play."
With the win, UNM remains tied for second place in the Mountain West Conference with UNLV.
Up next for the Lobos are the first-place Utah Utes on Thursday night. The Utes are coming off a 59-45 victory over Wyoming and head into Thursday night's game having won nine games in a row. Flanagan said he does not think the non-competitive game against Air Force will have an effect on UNM when it faces Utah.
"I thought we had a good game where we dominated the game," Flanagan said. "And now, hopefully, we can prepare for a good team, one of the better teams in the nation."
