Lobo women hope to stay energized versus Fresno State

Positive energy has been buzzing around the UNM women’s basketball team in recent weeks.

The Lobos have raised eyebrows around the Mountain West with a 6-1 start that includes four straight road wins. After going 5-5 to start the season, UNM has won eight of 10 games and sits alone in second place in the MWC standings, one game behind UNLV. What’s not to like?

“Yeah, it’s going good,” UNM coach Mike Bradbury said Friday, “We’ve been playing well, the players are happy, hopefully we can build on that.”

The Lobos (13-7 overall) will have a chance to extend their hot streak Saturday, hosting Fresno State in the Pit. The Bulldogs (12-8, 3-4) will be looking to change their fortunes after back-to-back blowout losses to Air Force and UNLV.

Fresno State remains dangerous. The ‘Dogs won three straight MWC games prior to their current skid, and they feature one of the conference’s best players in junior forward Mia Jacobs.

Still, Saturday’s home contest rates as something of a trap game for UNM considering what comes after it. Starting Tuesday, the Lobos begin a rugged five-game stretch that includes two games against Boise State and one apiece against San Diego State, Colorado State and UNLV.

As one might expect, Bradbury is focused on the immediate future.

“Fresno State shoots the 3 really well,” he said, “and they’re big inside, so we’ve got to rebound as a team. We’ve made that a priority recently and when we hold our own on the boards, we usually have a good chance to win. When we get beat up on the boards, it’s tough. We’ll get tested on that the next couple games.”

Containing Jacobs will be another key for UNM on Saturday. The 6-foot-2 junior ranks second in the MWC in scoring and rebounding, third in steals, and can can wreck a game plan when she gets rolling.

“She can post up, shoots almost 40% from the 3-point line and gets to the free throw line a lot,” Bradbury said. “She reminds me a lot of (Colorado State standout Emma) Ronsiek in the way she plays. She’s gonna get her points, but we have to make sure we contest every shot.”

On the offensive end, UNM will look to keep up the fast pace that sparked road wins at Colorado State and Utah State during the past week. The Lobos averaged 89.5 points in those games paced by back-to-back 25-point outings from senior Viané Cumber and 20- and 17-point performances from freshman Joana Magalhães.

Sophomore Destinee Hooks continues to lead UNM in scoring, matching Jacobs’ average at 18.0 points per game in Mountain West play. But the Lobos have gotten points from numerous sources during their recent hot streak, forcing opponents to pick their poison in terms of bringing defensive help.

“We need to get some better minutes at the (2 guard) when (Magalhães) is out of the game,” Bradbury said. “Other than that, I feel like we’re doing pretty well.”

FIERY FRESHMAN: Magalhães continues to elevate her play against Mountain West competition and is making a push for the league’s All-Freshman Team.

In league games, she ranks among the conference’s overall top 20 in scoring (12.4 points per game), rebounding (5.3 per game), assists (2.4 per game) and steals (1.6 per game). Bradbury credits Magalhães’ success to passion and aggressiveness, traits that might seem familiar to some Lobo basketball fans.

“Jo’s a competitor and she plays with an attitude,” he said. “She’s not scared of anything, which is her biggest strength and, at times, can be her biggest weakness. She plays with an edge, kind of similar to the way (former UNM men’s star) Jaelen House played and that’s a big part of her game. You take that edge away, they’re average players. You have to be careful not to take too much away.”

Asked how Magalhães’ teammates respond to her high-intensity approach, Bradbury smiled.

“They want her in there,” he said.