After splitting the first two games of its conference schedule, the youthful UNM women's basketball team has one thing on its mind: improvement.
"We're a young team - I've said that all along," head coach Don Flanagan said. "Heading into conference, I feel that we have a few more things that we need to work on if we want to be the kind of team that I know we can be."
The Lobos opened Mountain West Conference action on Jan. 9 with a 58-52 loss to No. 22 Wyoming at The Pit.
UNM bounced back on the road against San Diego State on Jan. 12, winning 60-47 for its first road win of the season.
"The rest of the conference schedule is going to be tough," senior forward Dionne Marsh said. "It's not going to get any easier. We're going to have to work hard. We have a lot of younger girls. They're not in the groove of playing conference opponents yet. We need to realize that it's conference time and every game counts."
If the Lobos want to succeed, they must find a way to win on the road. UNM is just 1-3 away from home.
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"We have to be able to win on the road," Marsh said. "To do that, we have to go outside of our comfort zone, step up and focus on winning."
But the Lobos have had no trouble finding success at home. UNM is 8-3 at The Pit this season and 182-36 overall under head coach Don Flanagan.
The home crowd is also a factor. The University of Wisconsin's weekly attendance statistics for women's basketball ranks UNM sixth nationally at 8,098 fans per home contest.
The Lobos are just behind national powerhouses Tennessee, Connecticut, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Purdue.
"Playing at home is important for us," Marsh said. "Having fans out there in the stands cheering for us definitely helps a lot, especially in those close games. It's nice to know that people are rooting for us out there."
Flanagan said that in addition to fan support, UNM's defense has also played a significant role in its nine wins this season.
"Defensively, I think we're there," he said. "We're doing a nice job of double-teaming and getting turnovers. We're playing nice man-to-man coverage, and I think our zone looks good, too."
But offense is where the Lobos need work, Flanagan said.
"We need the most help with offense," he said. "Great defense is useless unless we are scoring baskets to back it up. We need work on running our plays and finding the open shot."
Marsh leads the team with 14.7 points per game.
The only other Lobo to average in double digits is sophomore guard Amy Beggin with 11.9.
"Offensively, we tend to get too focused on Dionne," Flanagan said. "One player can't carry a team. Other players are standing around waiting for Dionne to do it all."
Flanagan said the Lobos are not taking enough shots from behind the arc.
In the first two games of MWC action, UNM has taken just 11 3-pointers.
"I think that there is a problem with people stepping up and shooting the 3," he said. "There is a fear. I don't want to shoot 25 to 30 3s a game, but I think 10 to 15 is where we're at as a team. All of the sudden everybody backs off. There are too many people who aren't taking their shots."
Regardless, the Lobos are practicing hard to prepare for their MWC opponents, Flanagan said.
"Our conference has great teams," he said. "We're going to face someone that slows it down and plays a half-court offense one night and then turn around and play a team that is bouncing off the walls and running a lot. We have to be ready for both."
The UNM women's basketball team earned its first road win of the season with a 60-47 win against San Diego State.
The Lobos improved to 9-6 on the season and 1-1 in Mountain West Conference action.
Senior forward Dionne Marsh scored a game-high 21 points for her second consecutive game with 20 or more points.
Two other Lobos scored in double digits. Senior guard Brandi Kimble had 12 points and sophomore guard Amy Beggin added 10.
UNM also received help off the bench from freshman forward Kelsey Ansley in the first half. Ansley posted five points, one assist and three rebounds before the break, finishing with a career-high eight points, five rebounds, two 3-pointers and three steals.
The Lobos return home Tuesday to take on TCU.
