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The UNM women’s basketball team nearly pulled off a comeback against the University of Arizona, but ultimately lost 58-53 on Saturday afternoon at The Pit.
The Lobos struggled offensively with 9 turnovers and a shooting average of 29.4 percent in the first half, thanks to a vicious full-court press by the Wildcats.
The Wildcats held the lead through all of the first half, and the Lobos were down nine points with 6:02 left in the second half. UNM went on a 10-0 run to snatch a one-point lead with just under three minutes remaining, but Arizona fought back and ended the game on a 8-2 run.
Head coach Yvonne Sanchez said the Lobos’ miscues cost them their eighth win on the season.
“We had shots, we broke their press and missed our shots. Those are shots we make every day in practice. We turned the ball over too much. Our defense was good because they didn’t run anything that wasn’t in the scouting report,” she said. “You have to make shots when at home, and we didn’t do that.”
New Mexico squandered its one and only lead after allowing Wildcat junior forward Kama Griffitts to score her third of four treys with 2:47 left in the game. Sanchez said the shaky defense could have been avoided.
“You have got to take care of the little things. I told the team to play zone, and we had two players play man defense. Then we gambled on a steal and couldn’t recover. We’re still growing as a team,” Sanchez said. “One shot can’t lose a game for you, but one shot can win a game for you. (Griffitts) won it.”
A record-setting crowd of 7,928 gathered to witness the game, and Sanchez said the electric atmosphere impressed her and aided the team’s performance.
“The fans were willing us back into the game. Our fans are terrific. They were standing and cheering. When we were down nine, it was neat to have that crowd. It’s tremendous to have that many fans at a big game — too bad it ended in a loss,” she said.
The Wildcats had three players in double figures. Griffitts provided a game-high 16 points, and junior forward Erica Barnes added 11 points. The Lobos limited senior guard Davellyn Whyte to 13 points.
New Mexico finished with a 33.3 field goal percentage, but only shot 8.3 percent from 3-point range. Junior guard Sara Halasz led the way with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Freshman post Whitney Johnson contributed nine points, seven rebounds and an assist.
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Women’s basketball winter break schedule
Dec. 18 – UNM at New Mexico State
Dec. 20 – UNM at UTEP
Dec. 29 – UNM at Colorado
Jan. 9 – *UNM at UNLV (MWC game)
Jan. 12 – *UNM at Fresno State (MWC game)
