by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
LAS VEGAS - The UNM women's basketball team excelled in dealing with speed and pressure in Wednesday's 80-52 pummeling of UNLV.
Unfortunately for the No. 3-seeded Lobos, it's back to the drawing board for Friday's semifinal matchup of the Mountain West Conference Tournament with No. 2-seeded
Wyoming.
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UNM head coach Don Flanagan said the Cowgirls' approach is in stark contrast to that of the Runnin' Rebels.
"We showed more poise against a team that is quite athletic and puts a lot of pressure on you," he said. "Now, we've got to play Wyoming, who doesn't do that at all. Now, we got to figure out how to beat that half-court set in running an effective offense."
Flanagan said the Lobos' past four games have been against up-tempo teams, so UNM will have to adjust to a slower pace.
If the matchup between Wyoming (21-8 overall, 12-5 MWC) and UNM (22-8, 12-5) is slowed down, the team with an inside presence will likely have an advantage.
The Lobos scored on the Rebels from just about everywhere Wednesday. Post players Dionne Marsh and Valerie Kast combined for 31 points, and guards Katie Montgomery and Julie Briody slashed inside to get points in the paint.
Kast scored her 12 points in just 11 minutes on 6-of-8 shooting and may be called on Friday to help establish a post presence.
Marsh said Kast can be a valuable asset against Wyoming.
"All you have to do is keep throwing it in to her," she said. "She's pretty good about finishing. Hopefully, she'll continue to help us through the tournament."
Flanagan said Kast has practiced well lately, and if she continues to put up solid numbers in games, her time will increase.
"She's got a great deal of talent," he said. "If she keeps playing like that, I'm not holding anybody out of a game if they can have a game like that obviously."
And while a game of half-court sets could mean a lot of passes to post players, Montgomery said the perimeter players must be ready to carefully defend Wyoming's deep shooters.
"They're a great 3-point shooting team," she said. "We have to make sure we keep that away from them."
Another key to the game could be how fast the teams start. UNM jumped out to a 21-1 lead against the Rebels, holding them for more than seven minutes without a field goal.
On the other hand, Wyoming didn't score a basket until the 8:06 mark in its 56-44 win over No. 7-seeded San Diego State on
Wednesday.
Montgomery said early success will be vital against the Cowgirls.
"They're a tough team that works incredibly hard," she said. "Hopefully, we will get a quick start like we did (Wednesday), and that will help a lot."
Wyoming head coach Joe Legerski said UNM's experience will be tough for the Cowgirls to deal with.
"New Mexico is a quality ball club," he said. "They are used to winning at this level, and that's going to be a big challenge for this young group. We're still a team that does not put a senior on the floor."
No. 3 UNM vs. No. 2 Wyoming
Today, 1 p.m.
Las Vegas
