by Brandon Call
Daily Lobo
Senior forward Dionne Marsh is a force to be reckoned with for the UNM women's basketball team.
Marsh scored 21 points Friday to lead UNM to an 83-36 trouncing of Norfolk State. She also chipped in 20 points to guide the Lobos to a 76-63 victory over Towson University on Saturday to win the Lobo Shootout title at The Pit.
For her efforts, Marsh was named the tournament's MVP.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"Dionne had a great tournament," head coach Don Flanagan said. "Her defense, her shooting, her rebounding - it all looked good. She deserved the MVP
trophy."
The honor isn't the first for Marsh. She is a two-time Mountain West Conference Tournament MVP and a three-time All-MWC team honoree. Marsh was also named the MWC's Newcomer of the Year in 2005.
But Marsh said the accolades are simply a byproduct of her team's successes.
"My teammates do a good job of finding me in the paint," she said. "I think a lot of my awards have been team wins. I'm just the one to get recognition."
Despite Marsh's team-oriented approach, her individual numbers are staggering.
During the tournament, Marsh averaged 20.5 points per game on 11-of-18 shooting for 61 percent from the field. She also hit 18-of-23 free throws and had 17 boards in the two games.
"On Friday, I had a size advantage and that helped a lot," Marsh said, "Towson was a lot more physical, and they had the height inside, so they matched up well against me."
Marsh averages a team-high 15.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game on the season.
But UNM's leading scorer still has room for improvement, Flanagan said.
"I want Dionne to take more outside shots," he said. "When we get her the ball inside, she is double- or triple-teamed. So, in order to draw the defenders out more, throwing up a few outside shots would keep them more honest."
And the main thing Flanagan wants Marsh to do is take
more shots.
"It's pretty remarkable that Dionne puts up 20 points off nine shots," Flanagan said. "She just isn't getting enough catches. We need to get her more balls so she can take more shots."
And Marsh also needs to work on passing the ball to her teammates, Flanagan said.
"They double-team Dionne a lot," Flanagan said. "If we can get her to find that other open player, those are open shots that we can be taking and hopefully some easy points for us."
The Flower Mound, Texas, native said she is up to the
challenge.
"To me, if I'm not taking a lot of shots, it means that my teammates are taking them," Marsh said. "That's good. It takes a lot of pressure off me, and I'm able to focus on defense, rebounding more and setting good screens. Coach said he wants me to take about 15 shots a game, so I need to do that."
The senior All-America candidate aims to continue her dominating play Saturday as the Lobos take on Arizona in The Pit.
"I'm just trying to win," Marsh said. "We are coming off the upset to New Mexico State, and that still hurts. From here on out, I'm focusing on nothing but winning."
