by Phil Parker
Daily Lobo
A first-round NCAA tournament loss may be the pits, but head coach Don Flanagan said it's nothing to dwell on.
"I have to respect the season we had," Flanagan said. "Everybody in the NCAAs loses their last game except for the team that wins the championship."
They may not have won the whole thing - that'll likely be Tennessee or UConn or some other national powerhouse - but no one can claim this year's Lobos aren't champions.
UNM finished its season 26-5. The Lobos tied for the Mountain West Conference regular-season title and won the MWC tournament at the season's end for their third straight conference championship.
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"We've been in the (NCAA) tournament four years in a row and won the conference three in a row," Flanagan said. "All those experiences are positive."
Flanagan said the loss to Purdue mostly had to do with personnel.
"It was a matchup deal," he said. "I though Purdue was far better than their record (17-12) indicated."
Also detrimental to the Lobos' cause were the free-throw statistics. UNM shot just two free throws in the game with less than three minutes left. Purdue on the other hand was 15-21 from the charity stripe.
"They shot about 20 more free throws than us," Flanagan said. "It's hard to defend that."
The Lobos have fallen in the first round in three of those last four tourney showings. Their best run came in 2003 when they went all the way to the Sweet 16.
This year's loss may have been particularly tough, because it was the last game for senior studs Mandi Moore and Lindsey Arndt, both starters since their freshman year.
Their graduation might seem to signify an end to this dream run, but the future looks nothing but bright.
Freshman Dionne Marsh looked like the second coming of Kevin McHale over the three-game conference tournament - scoring at will with either hand from anywhere within 10 feet of the hoop. She played cool and in control on her way to the tournament's MVP award, a first for a freshman.
Sophomore Katie Montgomery is also a pivotal piece of the future. She has shown brilliant flashes this season playing with - and in place of - Moore.
"Mandi will be hard to replace, but Katie will do that and play well," Flanagan said. "We have enough youth and talent to continue doing well, and I'm really excited about moving on and playing next year."
And all these big-time, late-season and postseason games can only help the team's youth, he said.
"When you have success, the younger players absorb that, and their expectations are high," Flanagan said.
