Pat Riley once said one of the most dangerous things in the world is a wounded animal.
Tomorrow night the UNM women's basketball team goes to Fort Collins, Colo. to face the Colorado State Rams - who are hurting badly for a win.
The Rams, who appeared in the national rankings last season, are 1-4 in the Mountain West Conference. They have beaten only BYU and dropped four consecutive games to Utah, Wyoming, San Diego State and UNLV. It is Colorado State's worst start in 10 years.
The Lobos, on the other hand, enter the game on fire, after devastating SDSU by 34 points and beating league-leader UNLV by four in a last-second thriller.
But UNM head coach Don Flanagan said it's still way too early to count the Rams out of the conference race.
"They're still a good team," he said. "Last year they had a four-game losing streak, and then they ended up winning seven in a row - after they beat us. I don't take them lightly."
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Flanagan also said Moby Arena is the toughest place the Lobos play, mainly because CSU fans are so similar to the UNM crowd.
"They're not the nicest fans in the world," Flanagan said. "And they can be real personable with you. They give you a hard time from beginning to end."
Another similarity between the two teams, Flanagan pointed out, is how the home team feeds off the crowd. Flanagan said the CSU crowd always becomes a factor in Fort Collins.
"They feed off the energy of the crowd, and you can't let them do that to you," Flanagan said. "I fear that, and I fear their physicality. They really play physical."
And the fans won't be the only ones giving the Lobos a hard time. CSU has six players who are averaging more than 10 points per game in conference play.
UNM senior forward Melissa Forest said the player who poses the biggest threat to UNM is sophomore forward Melissa Dennett.
"She's leading the team in scoring," Forest said. "She's athletic and she can shoot. She's going to be tough."
Dennett is averaging 14.2 points per game and 7.8 rebounds.
Forest, who averages eight points and nine rebounds a game, was named MWC Player of the Week after the UNLV game Saturday. Forest is the second-leading UNM scorer, behind Lindsey Arndt, whose average is 9.6 points per game.
Another key player for CSU, Joy Jenkins, will be returning Thursday, after suffering from a broken nose.
But Forest played with a broken nose throughout most of her sophomore season and said she doesn't think it will be a big factor in the outcome of Thursday's game.
"The only time you think about your broken nose is when you get hit in the nose," she said. "Once you start playing, you don't really think about it."
Tip off from Moby Arena will be at 7 p.m. The Lobos will then head to Laramie, Wyo. to face the Cowgirls on Saturday.
Women's MWC Statistics
ˇˇˇˇConferenceˇˇˇˇˇˇˇOverall
Teamˇˇˇˇˇ Winsˇ ˇ LossesˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇWinsˇˇ Losses
Utahˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ5ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ0ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ15ˇˇˇˇˇˇ ˇˇ 4
UNLVˇˇˇˇˇ4ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ15ˇˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ15ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ 3
UNMˇˇˇˇˇ4ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ1ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇˇˇ12ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ 6
Wyomingˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ3ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ 2ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇ7ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ 11
San Diego Stateˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ2ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ 3ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ7ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ 11
BYUˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ1ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ 4ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ11ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ 8
Colorado Stateˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ1ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ 4ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ10ˇˇ ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ8
Air Forceˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ0ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ ˇˇ 5ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ3ˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇˇ 15
