Who says global warming is just a theory?
What else can explain how the UNM women's basketball team shot a frigid 20 percent from the field in the first half, then suddenly warmed up to shoot 56 percent in the second half against Nebraska?
As head coach Don Flanagan said, it was a tale of two halves, with the Lobos heating up enough to beat out the Cornhuskers 62-51 in the final of the Midtown Tournament on Saturday.
Amanda Adamson scored UNM's first points off a jumper at the 18:45 mark in the first half, but from then on, the Lobos couldn't buy a bucket, going 17:17 without a field goal. Luckily, the Cornhuskers weren't in a Scrooge-like mood, hacking their way to 19 fouls and generously giving the Lobos 18 free-throw attempts. Thirteen of UNM's 22 first-half points came from the line.
Flanagan said the Lobos counteracted Nebraska's swarming defense by drawing fouls.
"They were physical," he said. "And that's something we've worked on - driving (against) physical play. That was how we were scoring."
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Not that the Cornhuskers were much better on offense, though.
Instead of building a cushion, Nebraska went into the half up 26-22, in part because, much like the common cold, chilly shooting is contagious. The Huskers made only 28 percent of their field-goal attempts.
However, for the Lobos, El Nino came just in time.
After managing only four field goals in the first half, the Lobos were torrid in the second half, draining 15-of-27 shots.
Flanagan, whose birthday was Saturday, said he uses different techniques to get a
reaction out of his squad.
"Sometimes you have to threaten them," he said. "Usually, I spend a lot of time threatening them (at halftime). Nah, I'm just kidding. I didn't threaten them. What I felt like is I wanted to be calm with them. That was important because I didn't see them being calm. That was something where I'm trying to get them to respond."
And respond the Lobos did.
A 3-pointer by Adamson early in the second half gave the Lobos a 27-26 lead - their first since two minutes into the game.
With 13:07 left in the game, Amy Beggin's jumper sparked a 23-3 Lobo run that roasted the Cornhuskers and gave the Lobos a 61-39 lead with 6:31 to go.
From there, it was just a matter of picking apart the cob.
Beggin, who was the MVP of the tournament, finished with 19 points. Angela Hartill and Adamson were the only other Lobos in double figures, with Hartill adding 14 and Adamson contributing 10.
"We just calmed down a lot," Beggin said. "We knew we could play with them, and we just came out and hit our first couple shots. It just relaxed us all, and we just kept getting stops defensively."
Even amid UNM's shooting sauna, the Cornhuskers could never defrost, shooting only 31 percent from the field in the second half.
"To hold them to 51 points is pretty good," Beggin said. "We never give up on each other."
Despite losing some key talent and claims that this was a rebuilding year, Flanagan appears to be a miracle worker, helping the Lobos improve to 6-1 on the season - and instilling optimism in his team.
"I'm so happy," Adamson said. "I love our team this year."
Women's basketball vs. New Mexico State
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
The Pit
