The women’s basketball team finally has a win in conference play.
The Lobos started off in conference play 0-6, but beat Air Force 67-44 on Wednesday, and play Boise State tomorrow at home for a chance to start a winning streak.
“It feels good,” head coach Yvonne Sanchez said. “A lot of people deserve this. The players definitely deserve it. It feels good to get in the locker room with everyone smiling and having an overall good game.”
Junior guard Jayme Jackson led the Lobos with 13 points. She said it’s important to build on this win for the rest of the MWC season.
“It means a lot,” she said. “It gives us momentum and we have to keep carrying that forward for what’s left. The key for us is to keep carrying that forward and keep getting wins.”
Neither the Lobos nor Air Force had won a conference game going into Wednesday’s contest, and Sanchez said it was crucial to finally get a win.
“You don’t want to be 0-7 going into the Boise State game on Saturday,” Sanchez said. “This was a game we felt that, if we executed it, we could get the win and be on top.”
The Lobos have been plagued by injuries this season but are returning to full strength for the first time. UNM now plays four of its last seven games this season at home.
Sanchez said with the players returning, she hopes the team can turn its season around.
“We want to get over the hump and actually win those games,” she said. “We have the best four out of six league games at home and with Jourdan (Erskine) back, we want to have a good second half of the week.”
The Broncos are led by Kati Isham and Lauren Lenhardt, who both average 15 points per game.
Junior guard Caroline Durbin leads the Lobos with 14.9 points per game, and she said the team needs to come out and take the lead early against Boise State.
“The most important thing is that we get off to a fast start,” she said. “We have to make the initial contact and not let them get us on our heels.”
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Boise State comes into the game 11-11 and 2-5 in MWC, but one of its wins was against UNM at home at the beginning of the MWC season.
The last meeting between these two teams was on Jan. 11, ending with the Broncos running out 65-46, winners.
In that game UNM had 23 turnovers and shot just 38 percent from the floor.
Sanchez said the Lobos are a different team this time and said she doesn’t expect so many mistakes the second time.
“They are a very good team, but that was a long time ago and I think that we are playing better since then,” she said. “The biggest thing for us against them is cutting down on our turnovers and boxing out. We need to go out there and play our best.”
Women’s basketball vs. Boise State
Saturday, 2 p.m.
The Pit
