E-mail Story
Print Friendly
Send E-mail
Reprint story
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Win Was Great, But CSU Awaits
By Ken Sickenger
Journal Staff Writer
Monday was all about getting back to business for the University of New Mexico women's basketball team.
Sunday's solid 75-63 victory over TCU? Old news.
UNM's slip from this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll? Big deal.
The Lobos (15-3 overall, 4-1 Mountain West Conference) already had shifted attention to their next assignment — Wednesday's visit to Colorado State — as they pushed through practice at the Davalos Center.
With one exception.
Junior Georonika Jackson remained a primary topic of discussion after scoring a career-high 23 points against TCU. Making Jackson's performance all the more remarkable was that she had a total of 27 points in the Lobos' previous 17 games.
“G's never been afraid to take the big shot,” UNM coach Don Flanagan said. “She hasn't always defended or worked particularly hard at practice, but she's capable of being a difference-maker. She's got the skills.”
TCU coach Jeff Mittie was convinced after Jackson torched a Frogs defense that backed off her, effectively daring Jackson to shoot.
“Actually, I was surprised they kept leaving me open,” said Jackson, who swished 6-of-9 shots from 3-point range. “I'm just glad I was able to knock 'em down.”
Along with her perimeter shooting, coming out of nowhere seems to be part of Jackson's arsenal.
The 5-foot-ll guard played sparingly as a freshman and for much of her sophomore season, then stepped up to play significant minutes and hit several big shots during the Lobos' run to a seventh straight NCAA Tournament.
Flanagan said he's baffled by Jackson's tendancy to find her stride at midseason. All the same, he's hoping Sunday's outing was the start of a repeat performance.
“That was the kind of game that grabs a coach's attention,” Flanagan said. “Georonika came back and had real good practice (Monday), too. She's showing me she really wants to play more.”
Flanagan intends to stick with his usual starting lineup against Colorado State but said Jackson will be the first guard off UNM's bench.
“She's absolutely earned more time,” he said.
Junior point guard Amy Beggin believes Jackson's unflappable demeanor could be an asset to the Lobos as the games become more important.
“Georonika's one of those players who's not gonna get caught up in the hype or worry about the crowd,” Beggin said. “She's one of the most even-keel people I know. Nothing fazes her.”
Well, almost nothing.
The soft-spoken Jackson showed a brief flash of emotion Monday when told television reporters wanted to interview her after practice.
“Aw, man!” she said, glancing around as if to make a dash for the door.
“Get used to it, superstar,” Beggin chided.
NOTES: After reaching No. 23 in last week's AP poll, UNM was an unofficial 30th with 23 points on Monday. San Diego State, which defeated the Lobos in the Pit last week, was the only other MWC team to receive votes. The Aztecs had one point.
New Mexico continues to hold the Mountain West's best RPI, according to collegerpi.com. The Lobos ranked 34th nationally Monday, followed by SDSU at 45th, Brigham Young at 48th, TCU at 52nd and Utah at 93rd.
The Utes (5-0) hold a one-game lead over both UNM and San Diego State in the conference standings but will face a stiff challenge in coming days. Utah visits BYU on Wednesday, takes on the Lobos in the Pit on Super Bowl Sunday, then goes home to face TCU.
Sunday's game could produce a milestone for Flanagan, who has 298 career victories his 14 seasons at UNM. Flanagan also won 401 games while coaching at Eldorado High School.
You also can send comments via our comment form
|
|
