New Mexico’s women’s basketball season has not come to a close yet as the Lobos have opted to play in the Women’s Basketball Invitational beginning on Wednesday.
For the second straight year UNM will be entering postseason play, this year as the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
Head coach Yvonne Sanchez said she is pleased the squad will be able to garner some added experience in addition to bidding her seniors yet another home good-bye.
“We never want to turn down tournaments. If you have an opportunity to play, you need to play,” Sanchez said. “I think it’s good for our program, it’s good for our returning players and it’s good for our future recruits.”
Though Sanchez said the goal is to build a program suited for the NCAA, she said the process to get used to playing beyond the MW tournament is an added bonus for when her team is ready to make an appearance at the big dance.
On the immediate horizon is Weber State, a team against which, historically, the Lobos have had success. In the last 10 matchups between the two squads, UNM has a record of 8-2, the latest being a 67-44 victory in November of 2012.
That matchup was the only time the Lobos and Wildcats have faced off with Sanchez at the reigns for UNM.
After scouting Weber State, Sanchez found similarities in the team’s play from a familiar Mountain West foe, particularly when it comes to fast pace and shooting beyond the arc.
“What they lack in size, they make up for in hard work and heart,” Sanchez said. “They’re a very, very hard working team, they shoot the three very well… It’ll be a lot like playing San Jose State.”
The ambiance won’t be a typical one for Lobo basketball. Like last year, New Mexico will host Weber State on campus in Johnson Center, due to scheduling conflicts with a professional bull riding event at Wise Pies Arena.
For senior guard Bryce Owens, the opportunity to keep playing is paramount.
“It probably won’t be as crowded as the Pit, but I mean I’m just excited to play,” Owens said. “We could play concrete ball for all I care. As long as we’re in Albuquerque I’m good.”
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Owens added that she was not ready to part ways with her hometown for the past four years. She said the season ended on a sour note in Las Vegas in a 60-42 loss to CSU, the eventual MW champs.
“I definitely didn’t want to end the season the way we did in Vegas, so in the back of my head I was thinking, 'I think we’ve got a postseason ahead of us,'” Owens said. “So when I actually found out we had a postseason, it was great.”
Despite expressing her gratitude for Johnson Center allowing to play host for the Lobos’ first round, Sanchez said she would like to play one last time at WisePies Arena in the 2015-2016 season.
“Hopefully we can get a couple (wins) and then head back to the Pit,” she said. “We’ve got very tough one first.”
The ultimate goal for Sanchez and her squad is the NCAA tournament, but the WBI gives UNM an opportunity that not a lot of schools have in the middle of March – a chance to lace up, practice and continue to play.
“There’s not a whole lot of people preparing and playing right now,” Sanchez said. “Any opportunity you get, it’s a fun time.”
New Mexico's opening game in the one-and-done tournament begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Johnson Center.
Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
