It was a tale of two teams for the UNM women's basketball team Thursday.
The Lobos fell to the Chinese National Team 67-61 at The Pit. The loss ends an 18-game winning streak by UNM in exhibition games.
"We were two different teams out there," head coach Don Flanagan said. "We had some trouble executing offensively in the second half, but our defense was tremendous the whole night."
The Lobos led most of the first half except the first 2:25 when China scored the first bucket of the game. UNM rallied to extend its lead to double-digits before ending the half up by nine, 35-26.
"I'm very impressed with the way we competed," Flanagan said. "To be up double-digits on a quality international team, it says something. We're a young team - that's no secret. They are a very experienced team, and their maturity showed tonight."
After shooting 34.5 percent and sinking four of eight from behind the 3-point line in the first half, the Lobos came out cold after the break.
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"We got a little tired in the second half," Flanagan said. "Their transition - really that one play - hurt us. They executed that one play very well. They got good shots off it on the inside, and they got good shots off it from on the outside."
China overtook UNM on a Lixin Chen 3-pointer with 10:48 remaining in the game. Lijie Miao added an insurance three to go up by six, and China never looked back.
"I'm real pleased with the way Brandi (Kimble) covered (Miao) all night," Flanagan said. "She outscored everyone in China's last tournament in Russia. She averaged 22 points against all those international teams. To hold her to 15, that's pretty remarkable."
China, ranked 10th in the world by the International Basketball Federation and one of 12 teams that competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, is on a six-team U.S. tour.
Flanagan said the Chinese team worked as a unit, something the Lobos need to pick up.
"They are a little unorthodox with the way that they play," he said. "They play an unusual game. But they are very fast, and they play very well together. We will put this game behind us and learn from it."
The Lobos were led by senior guard Kimble who scored 17. Sophomore guard Amy Beggin added 16, including a perfect four-for-four from behind the arc. All-American candidate Dionne Marsh, a three-time All-Mountain West Conference selection and two-time MWC Tournament MVP, chipped in 10 points for the Lobos.
"We competed right until the end," Flanagan said. "I'm not so happy with the results because you always want to win. But I'm happy with the effort, and I'm happy that we played a very good team well."
Women's basketball vs. Eastern New Mexico
Sunday, 7 p.m.
The Pit
