by Brandon Call
Daily Lobo
The UNM women's basketball team concluded its exhibition schedule Sunday with a 98-66 win over Eastern New Mexico at The Pit.
Head coach Don Flanagan said the Lobos were outworked by the Zias despite the 33-point margin of victory.
"A lot of (Eastern's) players were New Mexico players," Flanagan said. "They probably felt like they should be playing here. They had a lot of motivation, and usually I say we play harder than most other teams. But today, they won the play-hard battle."
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Flanagan said he was impressed with the Zias' intensity.
"I have to hand it to Eastern New Mexico," Flanagan said. "They are a very scrappy team, and they gave us some problems. Their whole team worked hard."
The Lobos led from the opening minute, jumping out to a 9-0 lead. The Zias fought back to bring the game within two but never could get closer. UNM held on to a 42-35 first-half lead, despite an 11-4 Eastern New Mexico run late in the second half.
"We definitely weren't satisfied at halftime," sophomore guard Amy Beggin said. "We didn't want the score that close. We had to play better overall because if we play like that next weekend in the first half, we're going to be down."
UNM, which had a height advantage over the Zias, had trouble finding post players in the
first half.
"We didn't reverse the ball very well in the first half," Flanagan said. "When you see a small team like that, you go right out and throw the ball inside right away. The defense never breaks down, so they can double or triple team it. And that's what happened to us in the first half."
The Lobos came out on fire in the second half, increasing their lead to double-digits and never looking back.
"We got a lot of offensive rebounds," Flanagan said. "We also shot well in the second half - 57 percent. We outscored them 56-31. I'm happy with the way we came out the second half."
Freshman forward Jessica Kielpinski had a scoring spurt in the second half, making three straight UNM baskets for seven of her nine second-half points. She finished the game with 11 points.
Kielpinski said she attributes her points to the unselfish play of her teammates.
"Everybody was working well as a team," Kielpinski said. "I just happened to be the person that was open. I got some good, clean looks at the basket thanks to some good passing and ball movement."
Senior forward Dionne Marsh led the Lobos with 20 points. Beggin notched a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists. Senior guard Brandi Kimble added
13 points.
UNM out-rebounded Eastern New Mexico 45-28. The Lobos also had 46 points in the paint, compared to the Zias' 14.
UNM was also aided by 85 percent shooting from the free-throw line for 30 points.
However, Flanagan said the Lobo defense broke down against the Zias' outside shooters.
"We didn't have any tape on them, so we didn't know who their shooters were," Flanagan said. "But that's no excuse. Once someone hits a three, you know that they can shoot the ball. I was disappointed we allowed so
many threes."
With the conclusion of the exhibition season, the Lobo season opener is Friday against Western Michigan.
Flanagan said the exhibition games serve as a learning experience for the Lobos.
"This game gave me an idea of what we need to work on in the next week before our opener," Flanagan said. "We know we have some people that can score. Our offensive rebounding looks good. We just have to shoot a little better and reverse the ball a bit more. We will do that, and we will work on that this week."
Women's basketball vs. Western Michigan
Friday, 8 p.m.
The Pit
