Early action: Lobo women host New Orleans for hoops matinee

Wednesday may be Field Trip Day at the Pit, but it's business as usual for the UNM women's basketball team.

The Lobos host New Orleans for an 11 a.m. tip and the teams will play to an audience comprised mostly of school-aged youngsters.

That means UNM will likely skip its usual shootaround and begin pregame preparations around 7:30 a.m., coach Mike Bradbury said. Hitting the snooze button will not be accepted as an excuse for late arrival. In fact, Bradbury expects the Lobos to be ready for a full-speed start.

"New Orleans is quick, they'll get up and press you and they will play fast," he said. "Playing fast doesn't bother me, but (the Privateers) are pretty good at being disruptive so we have to be ready to go right away — otherwise it could bother me."

The Lobos (2-1) are coming off a tougher-than-expected 71-64 win over North Carolina A&T on Sunday. UNM trailed 57-53 with 6:13 left but finished with an 18-7 surge and left the Pit on a relatively high note.

"The big thing was we got better," Bradbury said. "Our attitude and effort were a lot better than they were at Colorado (an 84-59 loss) and that's a main focus this time of year. We need keep working and improving in every game including this one."

UNM will have a different look Wednesday as junior point guard Cacia Antonio makes her first appearance of the regular season. Antonio, who was named WBCA Junior College Player of the Year at New Mexico Junior College, was ruled ineligible for the Lobos' first three games due to her participation on an Angolan club team during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Antonio will be in the starting lineup, bumping sophomore Nayli Padilla to a substitute role. Padilla has played well this season and hit two key 3-pointers in UNM's win over North Carolina A&T, but she's comfortable with coming off the bench, Bradbury said.

"Nayli's still going to get her minutes," he said. "I talked to her about it and she's fine."

Bradbury has employed at least 10 players in every game thus far and plans to continue the trend even with Antonio now available. The Lobos will be without freshman Kaia Foster, who missed Sunday's game with a broken right pinkie finger. The non-basketball injury is not season-threatening, Bradbury said, describing Foster's status as "week to week."

Wednesday's opponent, New Orleans (0-2), also goes deep in terms of player rotation. The Privateers have used at least 13 players in each of their first two games and, like the Lobos, prefer an aggressive style. UNO has forced 42 turnovers in its first two games, road losses to No. 22 Oklahoma State and Tulsa.

UNM also has been adept at forcing turnovers (17 per game) but its ball security has been suspect at times. Bradbury hopes Antonio's ball-handling abilities will help the Lobos cut down their giveaway totals.

New Mexico ranks second in the Mountain West in steals per game (12.0), led by Joana Magalhães, who has a league-high 12 overall. The Lobos also lead the MWC in total 3-pointers (24) and ranks second to San Diego State (38.2%) in 3-point percentage at 34.3%). Destinee Hooks (18.0 ppg) is tied for second in the league in scoring average.

The Lobos will go back on the road after Wednesday's game, visiting New Mexico State on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Download PDF