sports@dailylobo.com
@Liam_CE
New Mexico women’s basketball head coach Yvonne Sanchez said she is pleased that her team was picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West Conference.
Sanchez said the team is prepared for a tough conference and is thrilled with the preseason ranking, but feels her team is able to compete with the best of the conference.
“It’s an honor to be picked fourth,” Sanchez said. “It’s good for our conference … We want to go back to being fifth or sixth in the country, and we need to be.”
Sanchez said she is pleased with the strength of their schedule, hoping that people will take notice of its difficulty. She said her team must be able to win tough games on the road and is looking forward to the hard ones.
UNM is going to rely on the depth of its squad instead of having breakout players, Sanchez said.
“I don’t know if there are going to be one or two breakout players,” Sanchez said. “I think as a team we are so deep … We’ve got to utilize all of the talent.”
The Lobos showed off the depth of the squad at the Lobo Howl on Saturday. They performed drills and six of the women competed in a 3-point competition.
When asked if Sanchez was nervous about injury at the event, she replied that the event is a fun practice and a way for her team to experience The Pit before an actual game.
“This is for our kids and the fans,” Sanchez said. “We get to showcase The Pit on ESPN, on national TV.”
Sanchez came down the ramp, followed by her team and their introductions. The Lobos then broke into drills in front of the crowd.
After the drills, redshirt junior guard Antiesha Brown rose to the top of a 3-point shooting competition, defeating five of her teammates in the contest. Brown, a transfer from Texas Tech, beat out Alex Lapeyrolerie with ten 3-pointers in the final round.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The NCAA has implemented new rule changes this year that Sanchez thinks will change the game for the better. Offenses will now only have ten seconds to move the ball past half court.
Before, teams could take as much of the 30 second game-clock on their half of the court that they wanted. The rule is being put in place to create more opportunities for offenses by speeding up the tempo of the game.
Another notable rule change to take effect this year will be regarding the lower defensive box. Defenders will be allowed to take charges inside the restricted area if an offensive player starts with the ball in the restricted area.
However, if the offensive player starts with the ball outside of the lower defensive box, defenders must be outside the box to take a charge.
“People are just beating the heck out of each other … We’re trying to get to the point where it’s not a boxing match in the key,” Sanchez said. “I like the changes and I like what has come of women’s basketball.”
