by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
The UNM women's basketball team gave fans a glimpse of how well it was expected to play
this year.
The Lobos pounced on the University of Nevada-Las Vegas early en route to a 77-56 victory Saturday at The Pit.
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After being selected as preseason favorites to win the Mountain West Conference, the Lobos slipped to 12-7 overall and 2-4 in the conference after a loss to Texas Christian on Wednesday.
However, UNM bounced back Saturday and perhaps gained some momentum in the process.
"I was real happy with the whole game," Lobo head coach Don
Flanagan said. "It was fun."
Katie Montgomery scored 19 points - all in the first half - and led the team with six assists. Julie Briody scored 19 points and grabbed four rebounds.
Dionne Marsh had a big game, scoring 12 points, grabbing a career-high 21 rebounds and dishing out four assists.
Flanagan said he was impressed with the rebounding clinic his star forward put on.
"I haven't seen her rebound like that," he said. "It's so essential to our success to not give them second or third shots."
Marsh said UNLV's strategy - focusing more on outside players - allowed her easier opportunities.
"Most teams, when they play us, they focus on the post," she said. "Sometimes me more than others, so that kind of keeps me from rebounding. When they're not doubling me and focusing on me to block out, that gives me a chance to get more rebounds."
Marsh had as many offensive rebounds - with eight - as UNLV had combined.
Flanagan said he was pleased with how UNM outworked UNLV on the boards.
"They had eight 'O' boards, which for that team is quite low," he said. "I don't think anybody's held them in single figures. We wanted to bang the boards."
The Lobos started hot on the offensive side, shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half and 59 percent from 3-point range.
UNM went into halftime with a 46-26 lead and didn't allow the Rebels to get within single digits in the second half.
The Lobos were hurt in previous games by erratic shooting. In the loss to TCU, UNM converted just 26 percent of its field goal attempts in the second half.
"It amazes me. It's almost like it's contagious," Flanagan said. "It's a good contagious. One person hits a 3, the next person's more than likely (to). And then, when you're missing all the time, it's a struggle."
UNM played well in just about all phases of the game, Flanagan said. He said that Saturday's performance is what he expects to see the rest of the season.
"This is more like the way we've been playing in the past," he said. "They know it, and they know that sometimes, when you start playing poorly, that weighs a little heavier on players."
Flanagan said he's proud that the veterans on the team have stepped up when needed most. The players were frustrated with losing and are capable of building off the big win Saturday.
"They've lost enough now, that they feel like, 'Hey, we got to play up to our potential, play hard and hopefully, we get a good result,'" he said. "It's very important to turn this thing around and start heading in the right direction."
Women's basketball vs. San Diego State
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
The Pit
