If the UNM women's basketball team wants its head coach to develop an anxiety disorder, the Lobos will continue to squeeze out wins.
The Lobos pulled out an 84-70 victory overUtah Valley on Wednesday at The Pit, but, head coach Don Flanagan said he was sweating bullets on the bench while the Lobos were engaged in a battle that teetered back and forth.
"I can't remember too many teams that got 70 off us," he said. "We need to make sure we don't get involved in shootouts. I know it's fun for the fans, and it's probably fun for the players to get in a little of a shootout, but it's not fun for the coaches. And I'm all about fun for the coaches."
At one point in the second half, the Lobos held onto a slender 53-51 lead with 10:12 left. Steadily, the Lobos pulled away - first by a nose, then by a length, until, at the final turn, UNM had a substantial cushion.
While the Lobos didn't defend UVU's Julie McMurray - allowing her to score a game-high 25 points - a stalwart defensive effort by Angela Hartill held the Wolverines' leading scorer, Robyn Fairbanks, to only 14 points. Fairbanks entered the night averaging 27.3 points per game, but because of foul trouble, she was limited to four points in six minutes in the first half.
"Angela did a nice job," Flanagan said. "(She had) a good defensive game, but I don't think the rest of our players played as well on defense as they're capable of."
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In sophomore Amanda Best's first career start, she scored a career-high 11 points.
"She had a good game against Stanford," Flanagan said. "I thought she played a pretty good first half here, too. I didn't give her enough of a chance in the second half. In the second half, in the zone, she got her hands down and that bothered me."
Best said she couldn't have expected anything better in her first start.
"I was just really excited to get the start. It's like a dream come true," she said, cracking up. "Now my life is complete."
UNM opened the game on a 12-2 run. The Lobos held the Wolverines to seven points in the first 9:58 of the game, but a 10-2 run by UVU trimmed the gap to 19-15 with 8:17 left in the first half.
By the half, the Lobos led 35-31.
But UNM's five starters combined for 68 of the Lobos' 84 points, and all scored in double figures, with Hartill and Beggin leading the Lobos with 17 apiece.
Amanda Adamson secured a career-high nine rebounds.
UNM wiped the floor with the Wolverines 69-29 in their last meeting. UVU stuck around this time but in the end ran out of steam.
"They looked like they were a really good team," Beggin said. "We just need to get back to work. They were good players, but they're not going to be the best players we see all year."
Women's basketball vs. William & Mary
Friday, 7 p.m.
The Pit
