by Kevin McFarland
Daily Lobo
Senior Abbie Letz said she wants to make her last moments as a Lobo special.
She's certainly playing like it.
As the Lobo women's basketball team blew out the Air Force Falcons 79-53 on Wednesday night, Letz provided a memorable effort by netting a game high 18 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
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Letz, who is averaging just under 10 points per game this season, admits she is feeling the urgency in her last run as a Lobo.
"I just don't want to have any regrets," Letz said. "I only had two (home) games left, and I didn't want to think about how I could have done this different, or could have done that different."
Lobo head coach Don Flanagan marveled at Letz' play after the game.
"I thought Abbie played really well," Flanagan said. "She really defended well. She was active, she played well inside and outside. She was the best player on the floor tonight."
But Letz wasn't the only Lobo to have a hot hand. The team shot an impressive 48 percent from the field including 57 percent from behind the three-point line.
A total of 11 Lobos scored, including sophomore Dionne Marsh and junior Katie Montgomery, who complimented Letz with 14 and 12 points respectively.
After the game, Flanagan said he was pleased with the Lobos' shooting.
"We have been running a motion offense, where we're passing more," Flanagan said. "We have the capability to shoot the ball well from a lot of positions, we just need to work a little on setting more screens. We do have good three-point shooters."
The Lobos would step up the defense as well, using pressure on the perimeter to force the Falcons into shooting 35 percent from the floor, including 30 percent from beyond the arc.
The game was never much of a contest, as the Lobos jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and never looked back. By halftime, the Lobos had built a comfortable 43-24 lead.
The lopsided win was comforting for the Lobos after losing to conference rival Wyoming on the road last week. But heading into the final stretch of Mountain West Conference games in the next two weeks, the Lobos are still searching for an answer to their road woes.
Although the Lobos are 7-0 against MWC competition at home, they are 2-4 against conference foes on the road.
Flanagan insists the Lobos need to play better outside the friendly confines of The Pit.
"What I notice at home is we're playing the whole game with more confidence," Flanagan said. "That's the key to going out on the road and playing well. We have to play with confidence and play up to our potential."
Heading to San Diego State on Saturday, it appears the Lobos should get a highly coveted road win. The Aztecs are currently at the bottom of conference standings, and have yet to win a MWC game.
Either way, Letz is determined to translate the Lobos' home superiority into road wins.
"That's just the power of The Pit," Letz said. "I wish I had the answer. If we could play like this all the time, we would. We're just going to play one game at a time."
