Bob King Court needed a nice shining.
Air Force supplied the wax. The UNM women's basketball team did the buffing. The Lobos had a Falcon feeding frenzy on Tuesday at The Pit. What could be worse than a 73-39 loss in Fort Collins, Colo.? Try a 77-33 loss in Albuquerque.
"We were trying to make them pass a little bit more," head coach Don Flanagan said. "Explore some options. They knew if they got sloppy, they were coming out."
With the win, UNM (17-6 overall, 6-4 Mountain West Conference) halted a three-game losing streak, and Flanagan finally got that elusive 300th win - at home.
Hapless and hopeless - Air Force didn't have a chance in this one. The Falcons inched closer to joining company with Colorado State as the second MWC team to go winless in conference season. The Falcons fell to 0-10.
Going without a field goal for the last 8:50 of the first half, Air Force spotted the Lobos a 41-11 spread. Meanwhile, UNM went on a 17-1 run to build the lead.
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After blowing leads in their last three games, the Lobos couldn't have lost this lead if they tried.
Head coach Don Flanagan said he wouldn't have known what to do had the Lobos blown that sizeable cushion.
"I don't like to speculate about that," Flanagan laughed. "Sometimes things like that cross your mind. You think you have a 30-point lead and you think everything is OK. I've seen times where a team comes out and outscores you by 10 points and then you're pressing and worried."
There would be no anxiety attacks on Wednesday.
Poor Falcons. Air Force was outdone in every facet of the game. The statistical carnage: UNM hit 30-of-68 field goals to Air Force's 9-of-50. The Falcons had more fouls (14) than made field goals. The Lobos had six more steals (10), 12 fewer turnovers (6), 20 more assists (25), and seven more rebounds (44) than the Falcons.
Inside the paint points (24), off turnovers (22), and off the bench (33) - the Lobos dominated everything, tallying double-digit stats in all of the aforementioned categories.
Every Lobo had at least two points. Georonika Jackson and Eileen Weissmann led UNM with 12.
"Georonika's given us some positive minutes in the last few games," Flanagan said. "She's starting to be a player we can depend on - and even fighting for starting minutes."
Amy Beggin pitched in 11, while Angela Hartill had 10. Air Force's Raimee Beck had a third of the Falcons' points with 11.
The game was so lopsided, a reporter asked if the Lobos ever felt bad for the Falcons.
"Not really," Weissmann said. "Air Force is a good team. It's not like they're bad, so we don't look down on them, like, 'Oh, they only scored 11 points in the first half."
Air Force can take comfort in its second half. The game got a little better for the Falcons. The Academy doubled its point output in the second half, pumping in all of 22 points.
A combination of superior defense and reprehensible offense from Air Force kept the Falcons from closing the gap, Weissmann said.
"It's good to get back in the groove of things," she said.
Women's basketball vs. BYU
Tuesday, 6 p.m.
The Pit
