Freshmen get chance to prove themselves

The key to the UNM women’s basketball team’s success lies in its freshmen.
With juniors Sara Halasz and Nikki Nelson out with season-ending knee injuries and senior Jessica Kielpinski playing with a bum foot, it will be up to the underclassmen to fill in.

“I’ve said it quite a bit,” head coach Don Flanagan said. “I think our freshmen are going to be good. They just need playing time… That’s the way it is. That’s what we got. That’s the hand we’ve been dealt.”

And if Tuesday’s exhibition game is any indication, UNM might just be all right.
“(The freshmen) showed already that they are going to be pretty good players for the future,” Flanagan said. “They are going to keep getting better with every game.”

Freshman point guard Tina Doughty looked ever more the veteran against Western New Mexico. She was 6-of-12 from the field, dished out five assists and finished with a game-high 15 points.

“Her temperament is outstanding for a point guard, and she can put it on the floor and score,” Flanagan said. “She can transition and score a little bit… She made a lot of improvements this summer.”

Doughty isn’t the only underclassman who can score points. Freshmen forwards Morgan Toben and Emily Stark had 10 points apiece in the exhibition game, and freshman guard Jasmine Patterson added seven points, five rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, sophomore Jourdan Erskine notched five steals.

Erskine said the Lobos will be fine, even with one exhibition game under its belt.

“We’re probably going to get a lot of pressure, but, as a team, I think that we’re going to do good,” she said. “It’ll be a new experience and it will be a great experience to see what we can pull out.”

Look for these players to step up tonight in the season opener against Texas Tech, junior Porche Torrance said.
The Red Raiders come to town looking to make it two straight against the Lobos. Texas Tech won 66-55 last year in Lubbock, Texas.
Torrance said UNM is looking for some revenge.

“Last year we went to Tech and didn’t play that well,” she said. “We didn’t shoot that well. We need to set up our offense, play basketball and focus on playing our game.”

Texas Tech, like Western New Mexico, will press the Lobos, something Flanagan said UNM will have to watch out for.
“Tech will put more pressure on our point guard,” he said. “We really have to help (Doughty) out, so we’ll work on that … I think we’ll be ready, and I think it should be a great game.”