Lobos looking to lasso Cowgirls in MW showdown

The Wyoming Cowgirls have been a tough bunch to figure out this basketball season.

They've got arguably one of the Mountain West's best players, they've hung tough against quality opponents and — as usual — are no picnic to face in Laramie.

On the other hand, Wyoming is off to a 4-7 start (1-1 in Mountain West play), they've been held under 50 points seven times and are 0-6 on the road. Top scorer Malene Pedersen is leading the MWC in individual scoring, while the Cowgirls as a team rank second-to-last.

For the University of New Mexico, which hosts Wyoming for a 1 p.m. matinee on Wednesday, preparation has been a bit more challenging than usual.

"Wyoming's a weird team to scout," Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said. "Pedersen might be the best offensive player in our league — she can score from anywhere — and (the Cowgirls) have looked really good at times. At other times they've really struggled to make shots, but they have plenty of capable scorers."

For the moment, Bradbury and the Lobos hope to extend one consistent trend for Wyoming this season. The Cowgirls are 0-6 on the road and have struggled to hit shots outside of their home arena. They are averaging just 41.6 points in road games and have not scored more than 46 in any of their first six away contests.

"That is a key for us," Bradbury said. "We need to be really sound defensively. We weren't in Las Vegas (an 89-71 loss at UNLV on Dec. 20) and it cost us. We need to get back to being focused on defense and attacking the defensive boards."

The Lobos (9-4, 1-1) have been steadier than Wyoming in terms of scoring. They lead the Mountain West in offense (71.7 points per game) and have done an effective job sharing the load. Seven players have led UNM in scoring in at least one game this season and nine have reached double figures in points at least once.

Three Lobos rank among the MWC's top 20 in scoring: Destinee Hooks (5th at 14.5 ppg), Cacia Antonio (16th at 11.2 ppg) and Nayli Padilla (20th at 9.7 ppg).

With scoring disparities in mind, the Lobos figure to push the pace at every opportunity against Wyoming. But Bradbury said he doesn't expect the Cowgirls to play as deliberately as they sometimes have in years past.

"They're more guard-oriented this year and I think they'll be more willing to run with us," he said, "but if the advantage is not there, that's when they pull the ball out and run offense."

Wyoming does have depth and typically employs at least nine players. The same is true for UNM, which has gone 10 to 11 players deep in most of its games this season.

But the Lobos will be without injured starters Joana Magalhaes (quad) and Clarissa Craig (knee), likely elevating Padilla into the starting lineup and creating extra minutes for other reserves.

NEW YEAR'S PROMOTION: UNM will offer reduced ticket prices for Wednesday's matinee. Bench seats will be available for $2.26 per person.