There were plenty of resemblances between two players on the court in Saturday's Texas Longhorn win over the UNM women's basketball team.
The Longhorns, ranked No. 7 nationally, went to town, shooting 9-for-17 from the three-point line en route to a 73-56 win against the Lobos.
While the rest of the Longhorns undoubtedly played their parts, the Texas win fell on the shoulders of a senior guard who stands a diminutive 5-foot-6.
Senior captain and guard Jamie Carey had a career day, going 6-for-8 from downtown, and lighting up UNM for 28 points.
But Lobo senior captain and guard Mandi Moore dished out nine assists and head coach Don Flanagan said he thought his senior captain played a great game.
When the Lobo captain was going toe to toe with Carey, the audience could see, as Carey said, the two had some things in common.
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"I've got all the respect in the world for Mandi," she said. "She knows the game really well. You know we are probably pretty similar."
Those similarities pitted the players against each other on several occasions.
And that's when the fun began.
There was the time Carey had an entire handful of Moore's jersey as she held the ball above her head. Then as Moore backed her into the basket, Carey shoved her out of the paint, prompting Moore to throw her weight right back into Carey.
After being called for a foul, Carey looked at the refs in disbelief as Moore yelled that they should've called something earlier.
Then there was the time Carey drove to the basket with Moore guarding her. As Carey went up to lay it in, Moore gave her a forearm shiver that sent the Longhorn guard off balance and into the open arms of her teammates on the bench.
When the two crossed paths again, the audience could probably hear the trash talking five rows up in the stands.
Moore offered her take on their battle.
"We're both very intense people," Moore said. "We're both in it for our team. We're not going after each other at all on purpose."
Carey said their scuffles were just part of the game.
"We're both emotional players," Carey said. "Mandi's a great player, and it's fun playing against each other."
In the end, Carey and her Longhorns sent the Lobos to the locker rooms with their tails between their legs.
For anyone keeping score, Carey is winning the fight two rounds to one. Her team has won its past two meetings with UNM by a combined total of 63 points. Ouch.
But Moore and her Lobos stole a round two years ago at The Pit when they took down a No. 17-ranked Texas team 77-70.
After the game, both Moore and Flanagan said Texas is one of the best teams in the country, and playing the Longhorns showed UNM how much work it needs to do.
"We can look at that team and say, 'That's where we want to be,'" Moore said. "That's what we're working for."
If the Lobos can achieve that goal and the two meet again in the NCAA tournament, Moore might get a chance to even the score.
