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QUICK NOTES: The Lobos were able to get past the pesky BYU Cougars for the second straight conference win this year. The Lobos led most of the game but allowed BYU to shot key three-pointers in the last couple minutes of the game to close the gap. The Lobos are currently 5th in the nation in attendance averaging 8,576 fans a game. Jordan Adams scored in double-figures for her 22nd straight game against BYU. Her scoring streak includes the last five games of the 2000-01 season. Adams has been in double-figures every game this year. Freshman Mandi Moore had a big game against the Cougars as she scored 12 points and led the team with nine rebounds. Moore played a season-high 39 minutes for UNM. The Lobos are now 11-0 when they outshoot and outrebound their opponent. UNM held BYU, the nations top three-point shooting team to just 26% (6-23), a season-low.
VS. Utah: UNM vs. Utah is one of the oldest rivalries in UNM womens basketball history. The Utah Utes come into The Pit with a 9-6, 2-1 record. These two teams started meeting each other in 1974-75 and Utah holds the series lead with 36 wins. The Utes took both games last year from the Lobos.
ABOUT UTAH: The Utes are 9-6 (2-1 MWC) and are coming off a 67-39 win over Air Force. Utah is currently being led by Erin Gibbons with 242 points (16.1 ppg). Lauren Beckman (210, 14.0 ppg) and Lindsay Herbert 205 (13.7 ppg) are also averaging in double-figures. Beckman leads the team with 134 rebounds and Katherine McColl is second with 111. The Utes are averaging 68.5 points per game and are holding their opponents to 57.3.Probable Starters:#4 G Erin Gibbons, Sr.-3L, Salmon Arm, BC (16.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.9 apg)#14 G Kelsy Stireman, So.-1L, Ogden, UT (4.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.7 apg)#52 C Lauren Beckman, Sr.-3L, Elko, NV (14.0 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.1 apg)#13 F Katherine McColl, Sr.-3L, Hamilton, Ontario (5.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.5 apg)#25 F Lindsay Herbert, Sr.-3L, Coeur dAlene, ID (13.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.4 apg)
RECORDS MEAN NOTHING: The Lobos seem to enjoy having teams coming in as leaders in a particular category. The Air Force Falcons led the league in steals and were averaging 12.77 a game prior to their game against UNM. UNM not only snatched five more steals than the Falcons but they held AFA below their average. UNM had a total of 11 steals while Air Force managed 6. Then against BYU, the team leading the nation and the conference in three-point shooting, the Cougars had only six treys on 23 attempts. The Cougars had their lowest three-point shooting game of the year, 26%. The Cougars had been average 8.9 threes a game.
17,215 THANK-YOUs: The Lobos game against UNLV was televised on ESPN2, reaching millions who cant watch a Lobo game normally. 17,215 fans were able to make a trip out to The Pit to watch the game in person. Because of the number of people showing up for the game, this was the second largest crowd in womens basketball so far this year.
SHE DID IT: Junior center Jordan Adams became only the ninth player in school history to get to the 1,000 point marker for her career. Adams got her elusive 1,000 point from the free throw line against Portland State. Adams needed only 10 points and thats all she scored against the Vikings, but it was enough to put her in the record books. Adams is only one of three players to get to 1,000 in her junior year.
IT WAS A BIG ONE: The Lobos defeated Texas Tech for the first time in 10 tries. The No. 8/9 ranked Lady Raiders entered The Pit on Nov. 30th having won all nine games against UNM, knowing that this was going to be the last game played between the two teams. The Lobos outscored and outrebounded TTU enroute to a 74-65 victory.
HONORS/AWARDS: Jordan Adams has been named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week twice this year. Chelsea Grear and Mandi Moore were named to the Southwest Airlines Lobo Shootout All-Tournament Team while Adams was named MVP
ITS A BLOCK PARTY: Jordan Adams set a new WNIT record with her seven blocks against Pacific and 13 blocks in the two games. The Lobos set a new team record with 13. Adams must think seven is her lucky number as that is her career-high for blocks in a game and she has tied that several times. Adams is the UNM womens career leader in rejections with 231. Adams is currently third for both the UNM men and the women with her 229 blocks. Shes behind Luc Longley and Kenny Thomas of the mens team. She is currently ranked third in the nation and she has now had at least one rejection in the last 38 games that shes played. This year shes had 65 blocks for a 3.9 blocks per game average.
WHERE SHES AT: Just a way to keep on eye on Jordan Adams in the UNM career record books:
Career Blocked Shots (for both men and women)1. Luc Longley3362. Kenny Thomas2393. Jordan Adams231
Career Scoring1. Abby Garchek1,8362. Alison Foote1,6723. Jean Rostermundt1,4444. Yvonne McKinnon1,4205. Miranda Sanchez1,3016. Sonya Bryant1,1427. Jordan Adams1,123
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Jordan Adams had her first double-double of the year against Pacific with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Adams had three double-doubles last year and has six for her career. Junior Chelsea Grear has now had two double-doubles for the year and three for her career. Freshman Mandi Moore had her first double-double with 15 points and 10 assists. The last time a New Mexico player had 10 or more assists was last season when Nikki Heckroth had 11. Heckroths 11 hand-outs was the first time since 1996 a Lobo player has had double-figure assists. Lindsey Arndt joined the party after garnering 17 rebounds and 14 points against Arizona.
FOREST FIRE: Sophomore Melissa Forest went from barely playing last year to playing in all 16 so far this year, along with one start. She scored a career-high 13 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against Texas. On the Texas swing she scored 22 points and had 13 rebounds.
ITS ALL ON THE BENCH: Several of UNMs bench players came up big in the Lobos loss to Texas. Sophomores Melissa Forest and Lauren McLeod combined to score 22 of UNMs 58 points. The seven bench players have contributed 1,540 minutes, 422 points, 287 rebounds, 99 assists, 24 blocks and 62 steals this season.
GET OUT: The Lobos four losses this year have come when their opponent has outrebounded and outshot them. Colorado had the 48-34 advantage on the boards while Oregon State grabbed 45 rebounds to UNMs 40. Texas had the edge, 47 to 34, UNLV controlled the boards the entire game, finishing with a 47-36 advantage.
HOLD EM, HOLD EM, HOLD EM: The Lobos are currently holding their opponents to 58.3 points per game and in their last seven games have held opponents to 65 points or less. The most an opponent has scored on UNM this year was Colorados 78 points. The Lobos have outscored their opponent by 110 points in the first half and 103 points in the second.
CHARITY STRIPE? UNM is currently shooting .740 from the free throw line while their opponents are shooting .660. Lauren McLeod leads the team with her .867 percentage.
FRESHMAN FIREPOWER: The Lobos have three freshman who have contributed greatly this year. Mandi Moore has started every game while Lindsey Arndt has started every game but one and Stephanie Shaw has seen action in every contest. The three players combined have played 1,294 minutes, scored 354 points, grabbed 229 rebounds and dished out 155 assists. Moore is second on the team in scoring with 172 points (10.1 ppg) and she leads the team with 90 assists. Arndt had a double-double against Arizona with 14 points and 17 rebounds and Moore chipped in a double-double early in the year against Pacific with 15 points and 10 assists. These three first-year players are currently three of the top five freshman rebounders in the MWC. Arndt is first, Moore is second and Shaw is fourth. Moore also leads all freshman in scoring while Arndt is fourth.
RECORD BREAKERS: Jordan Adams is New Mexicos all-time womens shot blocker with 229 and she holds several records in season categories. For a season (2000-01) shes currently third in free throws made with 129, third with 163 free throws attempted, fifth in field goals made with 182 and second in points with 509, all of those records came last season.
ITS JUST A NUMBER: Ranked teams have continued to baffle the Lobos. UNM is currently 3-14 against opponents that have a number before their name. The Lobos defeated their first ranked opponent since 1997-98 when they were victorious over the visiting Texas Tech Lady Raiders, 74-65 on Nov. 30, 2001. This year the Lobos have gone 1-2 against ranked opponents.
MARGIN OF VICTORY: The Lobos have had seven games this year where the margin of victory was 20-points or greater and three games where it ws 30 or more.
THE INVITATIONS IN THE MAIL: Junior Jordan Adams competed for a chance to represent the USA in the World University Games this past summer. Adams spent three days vying for a spot at the olympic headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While there she competed against 32 of the nations top womens basketball players. Other schools that sent players to the trials include; Oregon State, Colorado, Ohio State, Stanford, Purdue and Virginia. No other player from the Mountain West Conference was giving an invite to the trials.
RANKING THE MWC: The Mountain West Conference leaped from #12 in the RPI during the 1999-2000 season to #7 in the final 2000-01 RPI. The MWC will play a minimum of 37 nonconference games against the top 10 conferences according to the final 2001 NCAA RPI. The MWC will also play 20 games against 2001 NCAA Tournament teams during the nonconference schedule.
ITS A LONE STAR STATE OF MIND: Of the 12 players on UNMs roster this year, six are from Texas. Stephanie Shaw, Brittany Wolfgang, Mandi Moore, Chelsea Grear, Daja Adams and Lauren McLeod all call the Lone Star state home. The Lobos are only represented by four states.
ON THE AIR: Every UNM game can be heard on The Sports Animal, 610 AM, a sister station of flagship 770 KOB AM. Andrew Paul is in his third year broadcasting the womens contests and while at home he is joined by former Lobo assistant coach, Hazel Tull-Leach. In addition to being on the radio the Lobos have appeared on national television once.
THIS JUST IN: UNM signed a total of three players to national letters of intent during the early signing period. The group includes: Abbie Letz (El Paso, TX), a 61 post who averaged 19 points per game and 8 rebounds at Hanks High School. Letz chose New Mexico over Texas A&M Corpus Christi, North Texas and Southwest Missouri State. Tiana Johnson (Roswell, NM) a 510 post who averages 24 points per game and 9 rebounds at Goddard High School. Tiana chose UNM over Santa Clara and Oral Roberts. Jana Francis (Canadian, TX) a 62 post player who averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds at Canadian High School. Jana chose the Lobos over Rice, Texas Christian, Baylor and Oklahoma State.THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE: The newest conference in the nation has quickly emerged as one of the best. The Mountain West Conference, which officially commenced operation on July 1, 1999, sent three football teams to bowl games and won a national championship (womens cross country) in its first year.The MWC was conceived on May 26, 1998, when eight teams announced they were breaking 1away from the Western Athletic Conference. Those teams Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mex1ico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah and Wyoming brought immediate credibility to their new league.Last year, the Lobos finished in a tie for third place. Utah won the regular season title but it was the Colorado State Rams that won the tournament. CSU and Utah both advanced to the NCAA Tournament while UNM, UNLV, BYU and San Diego State played in the WNIT.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HOSTS: The University of New Mexico will be hosts for the 2003-04 womens west regional. The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight contests were held here in 2000 and the Lobos will play hosts to the 2001-02 mens first and second rounds. The Pit has hosted NCAA Tournament action in 1968, 1978, 1983, 1985, 1992 and 1996. It ws the site of the 1983 Final Four, in which Cinderella North Carolina State upset heavy-favorite Houston at the buzzer to win its second national title. The Tournament returns to Albuquerque again in 2005 for the mens west regional.
TICKETS: Single-game and season tickets are currently available at the athletic ticket office at The Pit. Single-game tickets for all games are also available online at www.tickets.com. Phone orders are accepted by calling 851-5050 or 1-800-903-3315. Call the UNM Athletics ticket office at (505) 925-5626 for more information.
LOBO HISTORY: The Lobos are beginning their 24th season of competition. The first womens basketball game at UNM was played on Jan. 10, 1974, a 45-79 loss to Gallup. The Lobos have an overall record of 136-159 and a 96-58 record since the program was reestablished in 1991-92. Since Don Flanagan came on board the Lobos have had a winning program for five straight years.
HEAD COACH DON FLANAGAN: Don Flanagan, arguably the greatest womens basketball coach at New Mexico, is entering his seventh season at UNM. Flanagan took over this struggling program in 1995 and the Lobos have improved to a remarkable 122-63 (.659), theyve captured a conference regular-season championship, a conference tournament championship and made four consecutive postseason appearances, including the schools first-ever NCAA bid. Flanagan has already become the schools all-time leader in victories, surpassing Doug Hoseltons previous mark of 89 from 1980-87. Amazingly, Flanagan took just 133 games to reach 90 wins for his career, while Hoselton won 89 in 194 tries. Of course winning is nothing new for Flanagan – in fact he is winning less now than in his previous job as head coach at Albuquerques Eldorado High School, where he compiled an astounding 401-13 record and won 11 state championships in 16 years. Under Flanagan, UNM has become a consistent threat to win the conference title, as the Lobos have finished no worse than third in each of the last four seasons. Flanagans teams have become noted for their stifling defense. New Mexico has finished among the conference leaders in scoring defense in each of the last six years and has consistently ranked in the top 20 in the nation in that category as well. Fan support has been tremendous as a result of the Lobos defense and intense style of play. Last season the Lobos were fifth in the nation in average attendance with 8,712 setting a school record. The Lobos had 16,845 fans witness their loss to Utah on Jan. 7, which at the time was the largest attendance in the nation. UNM also had a crowd of 18,018 at the WNIT Championship game, the third-largest on-campus attendance for the year in the NCAA. In 1999-00, UNM was sixth in the nation with an average attendance of 8,918; in 1994-95, the year before Flanagans arrival, Los Lobos averaged just 397 fans per game.