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Lobo women locked in for home finale versus Air Force
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One might say the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team is locked in for Tuesday’s regular-season finale versus Air Force.
The description fits in more ways than one.
In terms of Mountain West tournament seeding, UNM is already locked into another death-and-taxes matchup against San Diego State. The Lobos and Aztecs enter Tuesday’s games tied for fourth place and cannot avoid squaring off in next week’s 3:30 p.m. (MST) quarterfinal in Las Vegas, Nevada.
UNM (17-13, 10-7) could still be seeded fourth or fifth, depending on Tuesday’s results, but either way the Lobos will take on SDSU in the quarterfinals for a fourth straight year.
“We’ll start looking at San Diego State on Wednesday morning,” Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said. “Right now we’re focused on Air Force. They’re playing really well and they have a chance to move up to sixth. We know we’re in for a battle.”
The Falcons (17-12, 7-10) have been steadily climbing the standings after a 1-7 conference start that included a 69-63 home loss to New Mexico in the MWC opener for both teams. Air Force has surged since moving guard Keelie O’Hollaren to the starting lineup, giving AFA three dynamic scorers on its back line along with Milahnie Perry and Madison Smith.
“They’re quick and they can all shoot it,” Bradbury said. “We have to get out and defend the 3, but we also have to keep their guards in front of us. It’s a challenge.”
Air Force sits in seventh place in the MWC standings but could move up with a win and a Fresno State loss Tuesday at San Diego State. UNM has less to gain seedings-wise, but Bradbury said his team remains highly motivated for its final appearance in the Pit.
UNM has won four of its past five games, including a dramatic 65-61 win Saturday at Fresno State. The Lobos trailed 31-9 in that game early in the second quarter.
“Obviously we’re playing to win,” Bradbury said. “We want to build on the way we finished (Saturday) and go into the tournament playing as well as we possibly can. Besides, any time they keep score, you play to win.”
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UNM’s bench came up huge in Saturday’s win at Fresno State, racking up 35 points paced by Paris Lauro’s career-best 18 and Amhyia Moreland’s double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds). Encouraged as he was by the play of his reserves, Bradbury hopes to see a better performance by his starters, who combined for just 18 points in last week’s 59-40 loss at Wyoming and were outscored by the UNM bench at Fresno State.
Job one for the Lobos on Tuesday will be taking care of the ball. Air Force leads the Mountain West in steals, forced turnovers and points off turnovers and will play pressure defense from start to finish.
UNM effectively handled Fresno State’s full-court zone pressure for most of Saturday’s game, but Air Force’s pressure is different, Bradbury said.
“Fresno State wants to slow you down,” he said, “Air Force wants to speed you up and turn you over. We have to handle that, stay aggressive and attack when we get the chance. You can’t be timid against their pressure or they’ll wear you out.”
UNM needs a win Tuesday to finish with a winning home record in Mountain West play at 5-4. The Lobos finished 6-3 in league road games.
RECORD WATCH: Senior Viané Cumber needs one 3-pointer Tuesday to become UNM’s career program leader. The Albuquerque native has 239 career 3’s, matching LaTascya Duff’s total from 2020-23. Cumber ranks 15th on the Lobos’ career scoring list with 1,167 points. Antonia Anderson and Khadijah Shumpert or next on the list with 1,231 points apiece.
