by Dorian McKenzie
Daily Lobo
A seventh straight NCAA appearance: the ultimate goal for the UNM women's basketball team this season.
The Lobos finished the 2006 season at 24-9 and made it to the first round of the NCAA tournament.
As the winningest coach in UNM history, head coach Don Flanagan hopes to continue the streak this year.
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With two exhibition games and three regular-season contests under the team's belt, Flanagan has an idea of what the Lobos need to work on for the rest of the season.
"Those were two good exhibitions," he said. "One (vs. China) where we were over matched talent-wise and execution-wise and then one (vs. Eastern New Mexico) where we were more talented, but they outworked us. I think we'll make the right steps. This is a very motivated team."
If UNM is to make another NCAA Tournament appearance, it will have to rely heavily on its youth.
The Lobos return only two seniors: Dionne Marsh and Brandi Kimble.
Along with junior Angela Hartill, the upperclassmen have a big load to carry this season.
However, Marsh said she is happy with the young players' performances and how they have fit into the team.
"We're doing very well," Marsh said. "The freshmen are working hard during practice. They all want to be here. They all want to play. It's making everyone else better, and we're getting better as a team. We have a good team, and we should be able to do well this season."
And while upperclassmen usually have to take on the leadership roles, sophomore Amy Beggin has shown a lot of maturity.
Beggin had a big game in the exhibition against Eastern New Mexico, recording a double-double and scoring 19 points.
Beggin said the depth of the team will be important to this season.
"This year, we want to play about 10 players," Beggin said. "Last year, we played about seven. Everyone brings a different aspect to the game. Hopefully, everybody comes together on the floor and everyone does their job."
In the exhibition games, every player got to see some playing time, giving valuable game experience to the incoming freshmen and transfer students.
Flanagan said he was pleased with the effort, and some players proved they could hold their own, such as freshman Jessica Kielpinski, who had 11 points in the Eastern New Mexico game.
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Flanagan said he likes the makeup of the Lobos.
Despite the team's youth, he's confident the Lobos can be successful as long as they can improve in a few areas.
"We have some people that can score a little bit," he said. "Our offensive rebound looks good. We just have to shoot a little bit better and reverse the ball, and we will do that. We'll work on that."
