by Dorian McKenzie
Daily Lobo
When Don Flanagan was hired as the UNM women's basketball coach in 1995, one of the most important tasks was to beat New Mexico State as much as possible.
After Saturday's 81-47 victory against the Aggies at The Pit, the Lobos have now defeated their in-state foe 21 straight times.
Flanagan said he was pleased with the win but is not focused on the winning streak.
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"I don't even think about it, really," he said. "When I retire, I'll think about it. All I wanted to do when I first started here was play well against New Mexico State, because they had a very good program."
Senior guard Julie Briody led the Lobos in scoring with 23 points and added six rebounds. Forward Dionne Marsh chipped in with 17 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Katie Montgomery scored 14 points and grabbed eight boards. Junior guard Brandi Kimble finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
With the win, the Lobos improved to 5-2 on the season, while the Aggies fell to 2-5.
Briody said it was important for the seniors to beat the Aggies the last time they played them in The Pit.
"It is such a great rivalry," she said. "We didn't want the streak to end with us. I think that gave us a little more incentive coming out to this game to play a little harder. We took care of business."
Kimble nailed a 3-pointer in the opening minute, and the Lobos never looked back. The Aggies never took a lead in the game and were only 17-of-60 from the field.
UNM held a 47-23 lead at halftime, thanks in large part to free-throw shooting. The Lobos connected on 15-of-18 free throws in the first half.
In the second half, NMSU's Sherell Neal caught fire at one point, nailing four straight jumpers with about six minutes to play.
Still, NMSU couldn't slow down UNM, and the Aggies faced a 66-43 deficit.
The Lobos cruised the rest of the way en route to the 34-point win.
UNM's defense was a big factor in the win. The Lobos held NMSU to 18 points inside the paint and forced the Aggies to shoot a measly 28 percent from the field.
Marsh said it was a challenge to play against smaller, quicker
players, though.
"Some of the smaller people try and take your knees out, so that makes it a little bit more difficult," she said. "Either way, short or tall, there's always a disadvantage. For post players, we just got to concentrate and read the defense."
Flanagan said there are still some adjustments the Lobos need to make.
"Defensively, I felt we did a very good job," he said. "We just have to do a better job of running our offense. We're a little bit impatient in our offense, but I think we're getting better. We're playing unselfishly, and we're spreading the scoring around."
Overall, Flanagan said he is pleased with the progress his team continues to make.
"I thought we played fairly well. We're getting better," he said. "That's the main thing at this time of year; you want to keep improving."
Women's
basketball at
Arizona
Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Tucson, Ariz.
