by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
Katie Montgomery is not obsessed with the spotlight.
With the way she has played lately, there is no way the senior point guard on the UNM women's basketball team can avoid it.
After scoring a combined 51 points in wins over Utah and Brigham Young last week, Montgomery was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for the fourth time in her career.
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The senior, who cares more about team success, wouldn't have heard about the honor if it weren't for her mother.
"I didn't even know about it," she said. "My mom told me last night. Obviously, it's an honor, but it's not really a huge deal to me. I'm just glad we won those games."
UNM head coach Don Flanagan said Montgomery isn't the type of person to concern herself with individual accolades.
"She's more of a team-success person," he said. "I think Katie's as giving and unselfish a player as there is."
Her individual play has stood out recently, however. Montgomery's career-high 29 points at BYU on Thursday fueled a comeback victory after the Lobos trailed by 13 in the second half. She scored 22 of those points after halftime.
Montgomery went on to score 22 points at Utah on Saturday, helping erase a nine-point deficit after halftime.
As important as her scoring was, her ballhandling has been just as key. She played a combined 83 minutes in the two games and turned the ball over just twice.
Montgomery said she has rediscovered the flow in her offense.
"I think I've just been looking for my shot a little more," she said.
When Montgomery gets on a roll, she is a dangerous offensive threat, Flanagan said.
"The way she's playing right now, she's in a zone," he said.
While Montgomery has lit up teams offensively this season, her poise on the court and presence in the locker room are as vital as anything, Flanagan said.
"She's a leader," he said. "You have a senior that's been through three NCAA tournaments, won two conference championships and has a lot of success and still works harder than anybody else."
Montgomery said past success is what drives her this season.
"Going to the NCAA Tournament, I think a lot of people take that for granted," she said. "It is a big privilege to go. A lot of teams don't get to go, and I've been fortunate."
Not everything was running smoothly for Montgomery and the Lobos this season. UNM started 0-3 in MWC play, and in the first two of those losses, Montgomery scored a combined five points.
Flanagan said team chemistry was an issue at that point, and Montgomery helped turn things around.
With the Lobos riding a five-game winning streak, Montgomery said the team morale has never been higher.
"On the court, I think we're trusting each other a lot more," she said. "I think we're just playing together a lot more."
However, the winning streak, the player of the week honors and previous years' success aren't slowing down Montgomery. Ultimately, the team's goal is to return to the NCAAs, which won't be as easy after UNM fell out of the rankings early in the season.
That's enough to keep Montgomery motivated the rest of the season.
"We don't want to not be there," she said. "We're used to being there. That's the position we're in. We need to make sure we win some more games to try to get there."
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