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Head coach Yvonne Sanchez didn’t have an explanation for why the New Mexico women’s basketball team struggled to shoot the ball.
It’s hard to come up with one when a team hits just 31.7 percent (19-60) for the game and 17.9 percent (5-28) in the first half.
“I have no idea. We shoot every day in practice and they come in extra to shoot in the morning,” Sanchez said. “After practice they get their shooting in. I don’t know if its nerves, if they’re rushing it. They are open shots — some are contested, but most of them are open.”
The Lobos’ inability to find the bottom of the net resulted in a 67-52 loss to Texas University at Austin Tuesday night at The Pit.
It was the second straight game in which the Lobos shot below 20 percent in the first half. UNM shot 16.7 percent in the first half at Texas Tech last week.
Both teams struggled for points in the beginning of the game.
Texas led 11-3 until UNM junior forward Ebony Walker hit a trey with 11:16 to go, ending a 6:59 scoring drought for the Lobos.
UNM would trail by as many as 14 points in the first half and went down 30-18. In the first half, the Lobos had the same amount of field goals made as free throws made (5).
“It’s hard to watch,” Sanchez said. “I wasn’t a marquee player, but that doesn’t happen.”
Early in the second half, the Lobos cut the Longhorns’ lead to just eight, but Texas responded with a 22-3 run for a commanding 42-25 edge with 13:11 remaining the game. Two free throws by forward GiGi Mazionyte capped the Longhorn’s run.
That eight-point deficit would be the only time in the second half that the Lobos didn’t trail by double digits.
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UNM (1-2) had a five-point run later in the second half, but Texas was never in danger of losing its lead.
The Longhorns’ (3-0) largest lead was 20 points after forward Nneka Enemkpali tipped in a shot. UNM’s sophomore guard Bryce Owens hit a layup at the end of the game for the final score of 67-52.
At the 14:04 mark in the second half, Walker collapsed to the floor screaming in pain after a steal by Texas. Walker was helped off the floor and up the ramp.
Sanchez said the injury might be to her Achilles tendon; she’s not hopeful that Walker will return this year.
“Ebony was potentially the sixth man of the year, I thought. She gave us a lot off the bench,” Sanchez said.
Junior guard Anteisha Brown led UNM with 14 points, hitting five of 11 shots. Owens scored 13 points, snatched three rebounds, dished out three assists and a steal.
Enemkpali had a game-high 19 points on nine of 12 shooting with eight boards. Longhorn guard Empress Davenport hit five of six shots for 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Two players fouled out for the Lobos in Brown and sophomore forward Khadijah Shumpert, who played only 11 minutes.
“I think we’re looking to catch the feel of the game instead of taking over the game,” Brown said. “We’re not necessarily setting the pace to start the game and I think that’s what is ultimately contributing to the slow start.”
