Texas test: Lobo women face exhibition battle at UT Arlington

It won’t count on the UNM women’s basketball team’s record, but the Lobos are expecting a stiff test Tuesday in Texas.

UNM will make a rare preseason road trip to the Lone Star State, where it will face UT Arlington in an exhibition. The contest tips off at 4 p.m. but no live streaming will be available.

The Lobos had pretty much everything go their way in last week’s 81-35 exhibition win over Adams State at the Pit. Coach Mike Bradbury expects a much different scenario to play out against the Lady Mavs.

“We were bigger and faster last week,” Bradbury said. “We definitely won’t be bigger this time around. (UTA) has five or six kids back after making it to the WAC championship game last year, and they brought in three sisters who are really good. We’ll learn a lot from this game. They’re a talented team.”

UTA figures to be a handful inside this season with the additions of Mila, Amiyah and Kira Reynolds, who stand 6-foot-3, 6-feet and 6-4, respectively. The Reynolds sisters hail from South Bend, Indiana but have chosen to make Arlington their basketball residence this season. Mila is a junior who transferred from Maryland, Amiyah played at Purdue as a freshman last season, while Kira will be a freshman this season.

UNM enjoyed a significant height advantage against Adams State with 6-3 Clarissa Craig, 6-4 Emma Najjuma and 6-2 Jessie Joaquim alternating in the paint. The Lobos outrebounded the Grizzlies 57-29 and outscored them 50-10 in the paint.

Don’t expect similar results on Tuesday, Bradbury said.

“No, (the Lady Mavs) rebounded everything last year and they’re bigger now,” he said.

Tuesday’s exhibition game is a departure from UNM’s usual preseason schedule, which typically has included two home games against Division II opponents. NCAA rule changes now allow exhibition games against Division I foes, a change that Bradbury welcomes.

“This is good preparation,” he said, “and going on the road is a chance to get used to traveling together and just get the kinks out. (UTA) will play an exhibition at our place next year. It’ll be a good test for both of us — even though it doesn’t count.”

Bradbury does not plan to significantly change his approach from last week’s exhibition game, when all 13 Lobos received extended playing time.

“We want to play all 13, hopefully for double-digit minutes,” he said. “We’ll try to win the game but not at the expense of playing everyone. We need to see who can help us in certain situations in tight games and the only way to find that out is to play everyone now.”

The one notable change to UNM’s rotation could be in the starting lineup. Junior Cacia Antonio started against Adams State but will be ineligible for UNM’s first three regular-season games because of her participation on a club team in Angola during the COVID pandemic. Antonio is eligible to play Tuesday but Bradbury said he may start sophomore Nayli Padilla in her place.

Alyssa Hargrove, Destinee Hooks, Joana Magalhães and Craig are expected to fill UNM’s other starting spots.

The Lobos will host Northern Arizona to open the regular season Nov. 3. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.