Gone are the days of intrasquad play. the Lobos will face their first opponent of the 2015-2016 campaign Wednesday night against Western New Mexico.
“I think everybody’s tired of playing each other. They’re tired of playing against our scout team,” head coach Yvonne Sanchez said. “They’re excited because we’ve made practices impossible. We’ve put them in adverse situations just to see how they’ve responded.”
The Lobos have been officially practicing together for more than a month, something Sanchez said has caused some anxiety in anticipation for the season tip-off against Houston Baptist on Nov. 13. However, for now, Sanchez will have to settle with the preseason opener on Wednesday against Western New Mexico at 7 p.m.
“I think we’re all ready to play in exhibition just to see where we’re at. It’s one of those anxious things,” Sanchez said. “I don’t like being like this, it’s one of the first time I’ve been like this.”
The head coach said her anxiety may stem from the type of team she has, which is a good one. The Lobos have gotten deeper from a season ago, a season the Lobos finished second overall and advanced to the title game of conference championship.
Bryce Owens is entering her final season at UNM, and the guard said she is just ready to get out on the hardwood,
“I just want to go out and play basketball. It hasn’t even hit me yet that it’s my senior year and I’m glad because I don’t want to be all emotional about it,” Owens said. “I just want to go out and have a good senior year.”
New Mexico was picked to finish second in the conference after last year’s strong performance. However, the preseason projections have had little effect on UNM’s approach to this year’s season, Owens said.
“We know that we’re probably going to be targeted a little bit this year, but we don’t feel any extra pressure at all,” she said.
There are several things Sanchez said she will be keeping a sharp on during Wednesday’s game. Sanchez said the defense needs to improve vastly from Saturday’s opening scrimmage.
During last season’s longest Mountain West winning streak in program history, Sanchez said the Lobos were a team which hung its hat on the squad’s defense. She doesn’t appear to be changing her approach for the upcoming campaign.
How the team handles situations is something Sanchez said she will be keeping an eye on as well. However the biggest concern for UNM’s head coach is who will be awarded the second starting forward.
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“I’ve got one (position) that’s a huge question mark and that’s that other post,” Sanchez said.
Although Sanchez said she hasn’t officially named a starting shooting guard, the race to achieve that position is freshman shooter Jannan Otto.
“Maybe it’s because of the team I have and maybe I have to slow myself down, but they’re really fun to coach,” Sanchez said. “I’ve got to make sure I put them in situations to be successful.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at assistantsports@dailylobo.com or on twitter @Liam_CE.
