If the UNM women's basketball team's previous meeting with TCU is any indication, the Lobos are in for a battle Sunday.
UNM dropped a 57-54 heartbreaker to TCU in The Pit on Jan. 15.
"It was such a close game," senior forward Dionne Marsh said. "They came out and beat us in the first half pretty bad, and we were unable to recover. I think we're definitely looking to pay them back one."
Head coach Don Flanagan said the Lobos have historically had trouble against TCU on the road.
"(TCU) plays as good as anybody does in their place," he said. "They are very good at home. Last year, we had a pretty good team - we won the tournament - and I was about ready to resign after the game over there. They ran us right off the floor that night. They're very explosive over there and very difficult to play."
Revenge won't be easy for the Lobos. The Horned Frogs are coming off of a 73-59 upset over No. 22 Wyoming on Wednesday. With the win, TCU took over sole possession of second place in conference with an 8-2 Mountain West Conference record and 11-3 overall.
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"The win against Wyoming will definitely give them some momentum heading into our game with them," Marsh said. "But at the same time, they might also be a little worn out. Wyoming is a very physical team that can tire you out."
Meanwhile, UNM is coming off a 63-54 win over San Diego State.
Flanagan said the SDSU game was a good warm-up for TCU on Sunday.
"They have very similar styles of games," he said. "They are both teams that like to put on the pressure. No one puts on more than San Diego State, but TCU is a close second. We'll have to control the game and take care of the ball a lot better than we did (against SDSU)."
Besides turnovers, the Lobos' packed schedule this week is another issue, Flanagan said.
"Our problem this week is we play a Sunday game, play a Wednesday game, and play another Sunday game all in a row," he said. "That's three games in eight days, and that's difficult to do. We have to take time off. And that's probably a good thing, because we probably got a little beat up during (the SDSU) game."
UNM holds an advantage in the all-time series with TCU, 6-4. However, the Lobos are 2-2 since the Horned Frogs joined the MWC in 2005. The Lobos are also 1-4 in meetings outside The Pit.
"We haven't won a game down there since we started playing them my sophomore year," Marsh said. "It's going to be pretty tough. Everybody plays better at home. That's usually how it goes, especially in basketball."
But that doesn't mean the Lobos aren't hungry for a win, Marsh said.
"It's a good opportunity for us," she said. "They are now in the top of the pack for conference. If we can beat TCU, that'll help us a lot. It'll be good because we'll be able to move up in conference standings and hopefully get a better seed for the MWC Tournament."
