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Despite trailing for the majority of the game, the New Mexico women’s basketball team remained focused down the stretch, winning its season opener against Loyola Marymount (0-1) at home. The final score was 69-65.
Head coach Yvonne Sanchez said that the poise and confidence her team displayed sets them up to win ball games.
“It’s a good first win,” she said. “All of the players in the huddle said, ‘Coach we got this, coach we got this,’ and I said, ‘OK, go get it.’”
Intensity was a major concern in the first half, as the Lobos struggled to get anything to fall. Fans expressed their displeasure with the additional foul calls this season, consistently contesting the refs on all questionable calls.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Sanchez remarked on the first half of play.
UNM could not find a groove in the first half and found that getting to the foul line wasn’t helping its cause. The Lobos sunk only four of ten shots from the charity stripe, which Sanchez said was not acceptable.
UNM’s inconsistency at snagging rebounds contributed to LMU’s early success. However, the Lions’ inability to score after getting 12 offensive boards in the first half kept UNM in contention.
The Lobos struggled shooting from beyond the arc as redshirt junior guard Antiesha Brown had UNM’s only trey in the first half out of seven attempts.
Yet UNM’s struggles didn’t put the team in too deep of a hole, trailing by just six at halftime.
At the start of the second half the Lobos trailed by ten points, but the team’s confidence was not hindered.
“We had a slow start,” said senior guard Sara Halasz. “Just focusing in is our big thing.”
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Brown sparked UNM’s comeback with a few fast break scores. She hit 15 points in the second half and had a career-high 28 points for the game. To add to Brown’s scoring exhibition, she matched her career high in assists, recording 11 for her first double-double.
“She’s going to find a way to score,” Sanchez said. “She was an absolute monster today.”
“We are not losing in The Pit,” Brown said. “This is a marathon, so I will enjoy today, but we have to get ready for Texas Tech.”
UNM (1-0) was able to ignite its comeback in the second half after three consecutive baskets by Brown brought the Lobos within one point. However, a costly turnover and an easy layup allowed LMU to get two quick buckets, putting them up by five with 5:39 remaining.
With two minutes remaining in the game, the Lobos grabbed their first lead since early in the first half and held on to win 69-65.
UNM will face Texas Tech in Lubbock on Wednesday for the season’s first road match.
