New Mexico finally found its groove on offense Wednesday night in a rugged 67-53 battle against UNLV.
Head coach Yvonne Sanchez said she was pleased with her team’s response to bring a halt to UNM’s two-game skid. Sanchez said she has been working on being more patient as a coach to let the team play through its mistakes.
“I know the light was flickering. It’s ready to turn on. It really is,” Sanchez said. “I’m not saying the lights turned on, but we’re on our way. I think it’s getting brighter.”
The Lobos have showed glimpses that showcase their offensive potential but haven’t been able to put together a consistent game from the field. UNM’s 41.5 percent shooting fueled the Lobos down the stretch on their way to a 14 point victory.
“That was our best conference game no doubt,” Sanchez said. “That was a team effort.”
New Mexico battled through a game that Sanchez classified as an emotional and chippy contest. Between the two squads, there were 42 fouls and two players for the Lady Rebels fouled out.
“We didn’t expect anything less than a physical game,” redshirt junior center Whitney Johnson said. “I’ve felt like there’s always been a pretty good rivalry between UNLV and us so it was good that we came out on top.”
The tight game was a physical with a 47-43 count heading into the fourth quarter. Although the Lobos didn’t trail the entire contest, UNM was able to pull away in the fourth quarter highlighted by a 6-0 run to start the final 10 minutes of play.
Bryce Owens said the solid overall performance was ignited by the team’s defense. Although the senior guard said the team’s defense can be shaky at times, she said it led to big things for the team’s confidence on Wednesday.
“It was good to know that we could score and get stops,” Owens said. “What really fueled us was scoring and then getting stops on defense.”
Although the Lady Rebels (8-7, 1-3 MW) outrebounded UNM 44 to 32, New Mexico’s shooting allowed picked up the slack on the boards. UNM allowed 18 offensive boards against the Lady Rebels but UNLV only converted for 10 second chance points.
For Sanchez, she said it was good to pull out an emotional win against what she identifies as a respectable rivalry.
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“They just bring out the best in us and I think we bring out the best in them,” Sanchez said. “It’s always good to have a rival, but I don’t think we hate each other for it.”
As UNM (9-6, 2-2 MW) have resurfaced to be a .500 team early in conference play, Owens said it is important to utilize the win moving forward.
“It’s kind of like a weight off our shoulders. It’s a big confidence booster,” Owens said. “UNLV is one of our biggest rivals in the conference.”
UNM will take to the road on Saturday against Wyoming at 2 p.m.
Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers volleyball, women’s basketball, baseball, and beach volleyball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
