Now and again, the UNM women’s basketball team will face an oddball squad that gives them problems.
That happened on Sunday at The Pit, though the Lobos, thanks to some adept coaching from head coach Don Flanagan, got past Florida Gulf Coast’s lineup traps for an 80-64 victory.
The Lobos advance to face Oklahoma State in the semifinals of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament on Wednesday.
FGCU was quite the conundrum for the UNM women’s basketball team.
What the Eagles lacked in size, they made up for in grit, constantly hounding the Lobos’ post players with busy hands.
To combat their quickness, women’s head basketball coach Don Flanagan alternatively subbed in a five- and four-guard, one-forward rotation to offset the Eagles’ speed and athleticism.
“I wouldn’t prefer to do that, but I had to do that,” Flanagan said. “There’s not much I could do about (it). But now I feel a little bit more comfortable.”
Still, the Eagles put together a steadfast effort, battling UNM relentlessly. In the end, however, the Lobos finally pulled ahead for good.
“We just battled for the whole 40 minutes,” said point guard Amy Beggin, who finished with 20 points and keyed a pivotal second-half run which helped UNM subdue the Eagles. “I’m so proud of the way this team battled and just how we counter punched.”
Beggin started a second-half run by hitting a jumper to give UNM a 55-47 lead.
Sandwiched around another Lobo basket, the Eagles were called for a traveling violation, and Beggin scored again at the other end.
“We dug ourselves a little hole there,” said FGCU’s Adrianne McNally, who had a game-high 25 points, six rebounds and two assists. “Then we tried to get back in the game. Then we started trading baskets. We’d get up on them, and then we’d give it right back.”
Even so, FGCU had every opportunity to quit, especially in the first half.
Instead, though down 16-5 within the first eight minutes, the Eagles rallied with a barrage of 3-pointers to scale back into the game.
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said he was proud of the way his team scrapped, going blow-for-blow with the Lobos.
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“We got down early; we came back,” he said. “We got down again; we fought back. Those types of things you can learn from in that, ‘Hey, we’ve been down before. We know we can come back.’ There’s some positives to be sprinkled in.”
At the same time, the Eagles’ defense wasn’t up to par, which is why they had to battle from behind for most of the game.
“They did a great job once we made a run of executing their offense,” Smesko said. “We’d have a defensive breakdown and they’d hit a big shot. It seemed like we’d give up a layup or an open 3. They answered every time that we made a run.”
UNM teed off on FGCU early in the second half and had the Eagles down by 18.
But the Eagles, relentless in their efforts, propelled themselves back, ignited by back-to-back 3s from Chelsea Lyles and Kelsey Jacobson, which brought them to 53-47 with 11:22 to go in the game.
Flanagan immediately signaled for a timeout. He said he didn’t want to let the Eagles get any more confidence it their shooting, given they had the hot hand.
“If we gave them an inch, they’d be right back in that ball game,” Flanagan said.
*Women’s basketball vs. Oklahoma State
Wednesday
The Pit
7 p.m.
*
