The number crunchers for the NCAA have an interesting statistic that could shed some light on the UNM women's basketball team's success this year.
Scoring defense is the average points per game scored by opponents, and the Lobos lead the nation in the category.
UNM gave the number hounds - they had the Lobos at 49.9 points per game - no reason to remove them from the top spot in the category Saturday when the team blasted the Colorado State Rams 75-49.
The Rams' point total was their third-lowest of the season. Only the No. 4 team in the country, Connecticut, and No. 11 Notre Dame have held the Rams to fewer points.
Holding the Rams to a diminutive point total was only part of the defensive gem the Lobos played.
With a tenacious full-court press, the Lobos hounded every lineup the Rams' head coach Chris Denker tried to throw in there. The coach substituted four players at a time on three different occasions, twice after his team failed to bring the ball up the court.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"The first half just took them out of the game," UNM head coach Don Flanagan said. "It was the full-court press that bothered them enough to make a lopsided score."
Lopsided might be a bit of an understatement. When the horn sounded for intermission, the Lobos had themselves a 37-16 lead. Yes, that's right, 16 points on 5-of-24 from the field. Little kids score more points than that in a 15-minute recess.
Flanagan's full-court press helped force 21 turnovers throughout the course of a game that was over after 13 minutes. The Lobos' defense in the first half was so relentless, they kept the Rams from scoring a field goal for 10 minutes in the first half. It was a span that saw CSU heave three air balls on errant shots and chuck a well-defended three-pointer into the side of the backboard.
Sophomore workhorse Julie Briody, who scored a season-high 13 points Saturday, said the team plays so well defensively because of its willingness to outwork every opponent they play.
"We're all blue-collar, and we all hustle," she said. "We've gotten the concept of what he's (Flanagan) trying to get across to us. I think it's just determination."
That concept is something that seems to be clicking at the right time for the Lobos. Halfway through the conference season, UNM is sitting pretty at the top of the Mountain West Conference with a 6-1 record. The Lobos have only three losses all season, and although Utah has the same MWC record, the Lobos took down the Utes at The Pit on Jan. 22.
"Coach Flanagan really preaches defense to us every day in practice," Briody said. "His main focus to us is, 'Play hard on defense, and your offense will come.'"
With 25 points off of CSU turnovers, there couldn't be a truer statement.
