UNM WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Can UNM find its spark against Grand Canyon?
Lobos looks to snap scoring slump and tighten their grip on a Mountain West tournament bye
Could a trip to the desert warm up the chilly UNM Lobos?
Wednesday night will tell as New Mexico visits Grand Canyon for a Mountain West women's basketball battle in Phoenix. It will be the Lobos' first appearance at GCU and it rates as a significant game in the conference standings.
UNM (17-9, 9-6) enters in fifth place in the MWC race, one game behind Colorado State and one ahead of the 'Lopes (9-16, 8-7) with five regular-season games remaining. The top four finishers receive first-round byes for next month's Mountain West tournament.
At the moment, neither New Mexico nor Grand Canyon can afford to look that far ahead. The Lobos come into Wednesday's matchup looking to solve a scoring funk that has plagued them in recent games, while Grand Canyon is trying to shake off back-to-back losses to Air Force and UNLV.
"We've got to get back to playing better and try to start building momentum," UNM coach Mike Bradbury said Tuesday. "We've added a few things and made some adjustments this week, but really we just need to play better. That's our biggest priority right now."
Getting a sluggish offense rolling will be essential against the 'Lopes, who won the teams' first meeting this season, 75-62 at the Pit. UNM has averaged just 52.6 points over its last five games, despite going 3-2 in that stretch.
The Lobos have struggled defensively at times, including in Saturday's 66-46 loss to Colorado State when the Rams went 12-of-24 from 3-point range. But UNM has allowed just 54.8 points over its last five games — better than its season average for scoring defense but not good enough to overcome the Lobos' recent offensive woes.
"We have to be more aggressive and play faster," Bradbury said. "Our offense has bogged down and been stagnant at times. We've missed a lot of shots and we haven't gotten many easy ones."
New Mexico has been especially cold from 3-point range and went 2-for-20 against Colorado State. The Rams swarmed freshman Laila Abdurraqib, the Lobos' most reliable 3-point shooter at 40.7%, limiting her to 0-for-2 shooting, and her teammates could not pick up the slack.
Grand Canyon has not been particularly strong defensively, ranking 10th in the Mountain West in scoring defense at 67.1 points per game. But the 'Lopes have had their moments, including limiting San Diego State to 44 points in a 57-44 victory in Phoenix that accounts for SDSU's only league loss.
The 'Lopes also can be dangerous on offense behind standouts Chloe Mann and Julia LaMendola. Mann went off for 19 points at the Pit, while LaMendola had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Controlling Mann, Bradbury said, will be critical for the Lobos in Wednesday's rematch.
"They can hit 3's, but they'd rather take the ball to the rim," he said of the 'Lopes. "Mann gave us fits last time and we've got to keep her in front of us. Grand Canyon's really talented and has lots of players who can hurt you, but Mann's a big key. If you let her drive, you're in trouble."
ODD NUMBERS: UNM's loss to Colorado State was unusual in several respects. Despite shooting just 26.8% from the field, the Lobos went 14-for-14 from the foul line. UNM ranks 11th in the MW in free-throw percentage (64.9%) for the season.
Senior Alyssa Hargrove also snapped a streak of 10 straight games scoring fewer than 10 points. Hargrove had 12 points and hit two 3-pointers in a game for the first time since Jan. 3 at San Jose State. Prior to Saturday, UNM had been 7-0 when Hargrove scored in double figures.
