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LOBOS-COWGIRLS IN A MATINEE: The New Mexico Lobos will try and make it nine straight wins over the Wyoming Cowgirls when the two teams meet Saturday afternoon in Albuquerque. Tipoff is 1:05 p.m. Mountain Time from The Pit/Bob King Court. The game will be broadcast live on 610 AM The Sports Animal. The Lobos are 16-5 overall and 5-2 in the Mountain West following a frenetic 56-50 victory over No. 18 Colorado State Thursday night in The Pit. UNM trailed 28-12 in the first half of that game. UNM is off to its best start since the 1998-99 team started 22-5. The Lobos have won 12 of 14 since Dec. 8. Wyoming edged Air Force at the Academy Thursday to improve its record to 10-8 overall and 3-3 in conference play. The Cowgirls have won three of their last four, although they have dropped five straight to the Lobos in Albuquerque. Their last win here was a 78-53 decision on Jan. 14, 1995.Wyoming is a perfect 7-0 at home this season, including 2-0 in MWC games, but just 3-8 away from Laramie.
Probable StartersPPGRPG30Chelsea Grear, F/G, 5-10, Jr-2L, 9.7, 6.642Lindsey Arndt, F, 6-1, Fr-HS, 7.2, 6.240Jordan Adams, C, 6-3, Jr-2L, 14.8, 6.012Molly McKinnon, G, 5-8, Sr-3L, 8.2, 2.521Mandi Moore, G, 5-7, Fr-HS, 10.1, 4.5
UNM VS. WYOMING: The Lobos have a 21-17 lead in the series that started in 1974-75. UNM has won eight in a row, including five straight in Albuquerque. The Cowgirls last win in the series was Jan. 13, 1996, a 70-64 victory in Laramie. Last year the Lobos won 57-53 at Laramie and 65-54 in The Pit.
Wyoming Probable Starters:21 Darci Arsene, F, 6-1, Jr.41 Carrie Bacon, F, 6-0, Jr.51 Ann McColl, C, 6-2, Jr. 12 Carly Stucky, G, 5-10, Soph.25 Cherrith Wiersma, G, 5-9, Jr.
Head Coach: Cindy Fisher (Arizona State 88; 38-62, 4th year at Wyoming; 0-6 vs. New Mexico, 0-3 in The Pit)
HEAD COACH DON FLANAGAN: Don Flanagan is 138-68 into his seventh season at UNM, 93-35 at home and 45-33 away from The Pit. He is 8-1 in his career against Wyoming, 5-0 in Albuquerque and 3-1 in Laramie. Flanagan is 58-35 in conference games, 38-9 in The Pit and 20-26 on the road. Flanagan took over a struggling program in 1995 and the Lobos have improved remarkably under his guidance. Theyve captured a regular-season conference championship, a conference tournament title and made four consecutive postseason appearances, including the schools first-ever NCAA bid in 1998. Flanagan become the schools all-time leader in victories in less than five seasons, surpassing Doug Hoseltons previous mark of 89 wins from 1980-87. Amazingly, Flanagan took just 133 games to reach 90 wins for his career, while Hoselton won 89 games 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 with 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 past 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 Flanagans defense and intense style of play. Last season the Lobos were fifth in the nation in attendance, averaging 8,712 fans a game. The Lobos had 16,845 fans witness their loss to Utah on Jan. 7, 2001, which at the time was the largest crowd in the nation. UNM also had a sellout throng of 18,018 at the WNIT Championship game, the third-largest on-campus attendance in the nation during the 2001-02 season. In 1999-2000, 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.
LAST GAME: UNM overcame its worst shooting performance in nearly two years and a 28-12 deficit to rally past 18th-ranked Colorado State 56-50. The Lobos have beaten the Rams three straight times in The Pit.In trailing by 16 points in the first half, New Mexico missed 23 of its first 28 attempts from the floor at the 3:41 mark before halftime. The Lobos scored the last four points of the half to trim the margin to 33-22. UNM was stoked to start the second half, scoring the first seven points to draw within four. After the Rams nailed back-to-back 3s to push the lead back to 10, the Lobos erupted on a 16-2 burst to take its first lead of the game. New Mexico was on top 45-41 with 8:05 left following a Lindsey Arndt basket and would never trail again. CSU got within two points at 52-50 following a 3-pointer by Ashley Augspurger with 12.6 seconds left. Molly McKinnon was fouled with 11.3 ticks remaining, and missed the front end of a one-and-one. Then, like she did all night, Chelsea Grear grabbed her seventh and most crucial offensive rebound and was fouled with 8.3 seconds remaining and calmly sank both free throws to preserve the win.Freshman Lindsey Arndt paced UNM with a career-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. Grear recorded her team-high third double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. After shooting 52.4% (11-21) in the first half, including 5 of 8 from 3-point, CSU made just five baskets in 21 attempts (24%) in the second period. The Rams committed a season-high 25 turnovers, the Lobos just 13. UNM had a whopping 20-5 edge on the offensive glass.
NOTES FROM CSU: The Lobos shot 27.7% (18-65) from the field, their lowest accuracy in 59 games, since making only 24.1 % (13-54) in a 60-45 loss at BYU on March 4, 2000
While 20 offensive rebounds are a lot, its not the Lobos highest total of the season…UNM had 28 in a win against Arizona.
The 22 points in the 1st half is UNMs fewest this season…it had 24 against Arizona and St. Bonaventure
UNM held CSU to 17 points after halftime, the fewest by an opponent in the 2nd half this season…Portland State scored 19…the Rams 50 points is a season low.
Arndt led the Lobos in scoring for the first time this season
A crowd of 9,396 increased UNMs average attendance to 8,870…the single-season record is 8,918 in 1999-2000
Junior Jordan Adams scored 9 points to move into 6th place all-time at UNM with 1,148 points…Adams passed Sonya Bryant (1,142)
UNM AT HOME: New Mexico is 11-3 at home this season, the only setbacks coming against No. 12 Colorado, Oregon State and UNLV.
ROAD NUMBERS: The Lobos are an impressive 5-2 away from The Pit this season and have won three of their last four. The losses came at nationally-ranked Texas on Dec. 6 and at UNLV.
COMEBACK KIDS: Three times this season New Mexico has won despite trailing by at least 10 points. The comebacks:
OpponentDeficitTimeFinal ScoreArizona36-2618:32, 2ndWon, 75-67Utah45-3216:14, 2ndWon, 66-55Colorado State28-126:51, 1stWon, 56-50
UNM VS. RANKED TEAMS: UNM is 2-2 against ranked opponents in 2001-02 with a wins over then-No. 8 Texas Tech and No. 18 Colorado State. The losses have come against No. 12 Colorado and No. 17 Texas. The Lobos are 4-14 against ranked foes under head coach Don Flanagan. The 74-65 win against Texas Tech on Nov. 30 snapped an eight-game skid against nationally-ranked teams.
17,215 THANK-YOUS: The Lobos game against UNLV on Jan. 6 was televised on ESPN2. A crowd of 17,215 was able to make the trip to The Pit to watch the game. A the time, it was the second-largest crowd in womens basketball in 2000-01.
HOLD EM, HOLD EM: The Lobos are holding opponents to 56.9 points in all games and just 54.7 ppg in MWC affairs. UNM had held foes to 62 points or less in 12 of the past 13 games. New Mexico is allowing teams to shoot only 36% on the season.
SHE DID IT: Junior center Jordan Adams became only the ninth player in school history to reach to the 1,000-point mark for her career when she nailed a free throw against Portland State on Dec. 15. Adams is only one of three players to get to 1,000 points during her junior year. She ranks 6th all-time at UNM with 1,148 points.
WHERE ADAMS RANKS: Jordan Adams in the UNM record book:
Career Blocked Shots (for both men and women)1. Luc Longley3362. Kenny Thomas2393. Jordan Adams235
Career Scoring1. Abby Garchek1,8362. Alison Foote1,6723. Jean Rostermundt1,4444. Yvonne McKinnon1,4205. Miranda Sanchez1,3016. Jordan Adams1,1487. Sonya Bryant1,142
HONORS/AWARDS: Adams has been named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week twice this year and she was also chosen MVP of the Southwest Airlines Lobo Shootout on Dec. 22. Chelsea Grear and Mandi Moore were also named Southwest Airlines all-tournament.
BLOCK PARTY: Jordan Adams set a Womens Preseason NIT record with seven blocks against Pacific on Nov. 9. The Lobos set a team record in the process with 13 rejections against the Tigers. Adams also had seven swats against New Mexico State. She is the UNM womens career leader in rejections with 235, a figure that ranks third for both Lobo men and the women. She trails Luc Longley and Kenny Thomas of the mens team. Adams is currently No. 3 in the nation in blocks (3.6 a game).
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Jordan Adams had her first double-double of the year against Pacific with 21 points and 10 rebounds. She had three double-doubles last year and has six for her career. Junior Chelsea Grear has registered a team-high three double-doubles for the year and four for her career. Freshman Mandi Moore logged a double-double in her first collegiate game with 15 points and 10 assists in the season-opener against Pacific. 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 has joined the d-d party twice after garnering 17 rebounds and 14 points against Arizona and 15 points and 10 rebounds against Colorado State.
FOREST FIRE: Sophomore Melissa Forest went from barely playing last year to averaging over 15 minutes in all 21 games this season as the primary backup to Jordan Adams. The past six games, which includes a start last Saturday against UNLV, Forest has scored in double figures four times, and is averaging 10.3 ppg. She tallied a career-high 16 points in a career-best 33 minutes at UNLV.
ITS ALL ON THE BENCH: Head coach Don Flanagan regularly uses his reserves as eight Lobos have played in all 21 games while 10 have seen action in 19 contests.
FRESHMAN FIREPOWER: The Lobos have three freshman who have contributed greatly this year. Mandi Moore has started every game at the point, Lindsey Arndt has started all but one at power forward and guard Stephanie Shaw has seen action in every contest. The three players have combined to score 430 points (20.4 ppg), grab 279 rebounds (13.3 rpg) and dish out 183 assists (8.7 apg). Moore is second on the team in scoring (10.1 ppg), leads the MWC with 104 assists and logged a double-double in her first collegiate game with 15 points and 10 assists versus Pacific. Arndt has had two double-doubles. The first-year players are currently three of the top-five freshman rebounders in the MWC. Arndt is first, Moore second and Shaw fourth. Moore also leads all freshmen in scoring while Arndt is fourth.
RECORD BREAKER: Jordan Adams is New Mexicos all-time womens shot blocker with 234 and she holds several records in season categories as well. For a season – set in 2000-01 – she finished 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.
MARGIN OF VICTORY: The Lobos have had seven games this year where the margin of victory has been at least 20 points and three games where it ws 30 or more. The average winning margin is 10.8 points.
A BIG ONE: After losing nine straight games to highly-respected Texas Tech, the Lobos finally came away with a victory. The 8th-ranked ranked Lady Raiders entered The Pit on Nov. 30, but fell to the upstart Lobos, 74-65. THE INVITATION IS IN THE MAIL: Junior Jordan Adams competed for a chance to represent the USA in the World University Games last summer. Adams spent three days vying for a spot at the Olympic headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She competed against 32 of the nations top womens basketball players. Adams was the only player from the Mountain West Conference given an invite to the trials.
LONE STAR STATE OF MIND: Of the 12 players on UNMs roster, six hail from Texas. Stephanie Shaw, Brittany Wolfgang, Mandi Moore, Chelsea Grear, Daja Adams and Lauren McLeod all call the Lone Star state home.
THIS JUST IN: UNM signed three players to national letters of intent during the early signing period. The group includes: Abbie Letz (El Paso, Texas), a 6-1 post who averaged 19 points and 8 rebounds at Hanks High School; Tiana Johnson (Roswell, NM) a 5-10 post who averaged 24 points and 9 rebounds at Goddard High School; Jana Francis (Canadian, Texas) a 6-2 post player who averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds at Canadian High School.
THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE: The MWC was conceived on May 26, 1998, when eight teams announced they were breaking away from the Western Athletic Conference. Those teams Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, 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 host the 2003 NCAA Womens Basketball Midwest Regional. It will be the first time UNM has hosted a womens NCAA tournament game. The Pit has hosted the NCAA mens tournament seven times. Mens action returns to Albuquerque for the 2002 First and Second Rounds on March 14 and 16, and the West Regional on March 24 and 26, 2005.
LOBO HISTORY: The Lobos are in their 24th season of competition. The first womens basketball game at UNM was played on Jan. 10, 1974, a 79-45 loss to Gallup. The all-time record is 321-325. UNM played continuously from 1974-87 before the program was dropped for four seasons from 1988-91. Since its reinstatement before the 1991-92 season, the Lobos are 151-163, but 137-67 in six-plus years under Don Flanagan, who has posted five straight winning seasons.