Trap games can be a tricky terrain to maneuver, especially for a team that is looking to make a run at a regular-season conference crown.
And the UNM women’s basketball team fell right into one against UNLV on Wednesday at The Pit, resulting in a 65-59 loss.
The unpredictable Lobos entered Wednesday’s contest looking to remain in a three-way tie for second place and one game behind Mountain West Conference leader TCU in the league standings.
By the surest stroke of luck, UNM wasn’t harshly unaffected by its loss to the Rebels, because San Diego State was defeated by Wyoming, 63-51.
Still, the home setback puts UNM at 14-8 overall and 6-4 in the MWC, good for a third-place tie with SDSU in the conference, since BYU (6-2 in the MWC) didn’t play on Wednesday, moving the Cougars into second place in the league standings.
“(We) might have a great game, then (we) might have an average game and then (we) might have a poor game,” said Lobo head coach Don Flanagan. “So, I really don’t know who is ready to play, and that’s difficult from a coaching standpoint. I thought (UNLV) did a nice job of mixing up the defenses tonight, and we mixed it up right back at them, and it didn’t seem to bother them, but it bothered us.”
UNLV’s defense tightened up in the second half and flipped a switch from its first-half performance, which couldn’t have ended any worse for the Rebels.
All seemed to go in the Lobos’ favor. Amanda Best hit a buzzer-beating 3-point basket at the end of the first half, capping a 10-2 Lobo run.
The 36-26 UNM advantage lasted as long as the halftime period.
The Lobos didn’t put forth a lot of effort in the game, especially in the second half, Best said.
“We need to focus on every game we play and not play down (to their level),” Best said. “Even though UNLV, they’re a really good team. But as far as their quickness and everything, that team is really quick and they showed it tonight.”
Lobo guard Amy Beggin pulled UNM closer, 58-57, with two free throws, but the Rebels’ Kelli Thompson drilled a 3-pointer to push UNLV’s lead to four with 1:48 left in the game.
Beggin said she was disappointed with UNM’s listless performance, more so after reeling off three straight victories over the top teams in the conference BYU, TCU and SDSU.
“I mean when you come off three big wins like that, you have got to take care of business at home against anybody that you’re playing,” she said. “It is really frustrating, and we can’t let this happen again. We have to bounce back on Saturday and get back at it.”
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Jamie Smith finished UNM off with two more free throws in the last 30 seconds of the game.
Flanagan said this was a major drawback late in the season.
“From my vantage point and where I was sitting, it looked to me that they out hustled us, out worked us and out played us,” he said. “They played with more confidence than we did and I have no idea why. If I knew why, I would tell you. We just got done playing three good games and now we are down. The only thing I can get out of this: I really don’t have consistent players that I can depend on for a game.”
