Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
TOURNAMENT TIME: The New Mexico Lobos will close out the MWC tournament when they face the BYU Cougars in the championship game. Tipoff is 4:30 pm Mountain Time from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. The game will be broadcast live on 610 AM The Sports Animal and over the internet at www.610thesportsanimal.com. The game will be broadcast on a tape delay basis on ESPN 2. UNM is the No. 2 seed, BYU No. 5. The Lobos enter the final game after a 65-51 shearing of Colorado State. BYU defeated Utah, the conference regular-season champions, 70-59.
UNM’S CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HISTORY: New Mexico is playing in its 12th postseason conference tournament. The Lobos have an 12-10 record, after losing in the first round four straight years between 1991-94. New Mexico has advanced to at least the semifinals in seven of the past eight seasons and has made it to the title game on two occasions, losing to Colorado State in The Pit in 1996 and defeating Rice for the WAC title in 1998 in Las Vegas. UNM is 8-4 in tournament action in the Thomas and Mack Center, including the 1998 WAC title when the Lobos ran the table with four straight wins.
UNM vs. BYU: The Lobos trail the series 15-33. BYU snapped a two-game conference losing streak earlier in the season, defeating UNM 57-46. The Lobos had a season-low 18 points in the first half of that game and were outrebounded by BYU 45-35. In the final league game for both teams it was a different story as BYU got down early and was losing by 19 at the break. In the second half the Cougars rallied to within eight but the Lobos held on and defeated BYU 63-44. The Cougars and the Lobos met in last year’s tournament semifinal, with BYU posting a 71-58 win.
THIS TIME AROUND: In two previous meetings against Colorado State, senior Jordan Adams was just 4-of-16 from the field (15%), but in the Lobos-Rams semifinal game she was 6-of-10, with 17 points.
HIGHS AND LOWS: In the semifinal game Colorado State scored at the 18:14 mark of the first half, but went 10:18 without a basket, shooting 1-for-12. In that span, UNM jumped out to a 15-2 lead. The Rams pulled to within 7 with 6:58 remaining, but the Lobos responded with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes for a 25-8 lead.
SCORING FRENZY: The Lobos are 18-7 when they have two players score in double figures. UNM is a perfect 10-0 when four or more players have double digits. Jordan Adams leads the team with 23 double-figure games. Against Colorado State the Lobos had both of those things happen, Chelsea Grear, Adams, Cristal Garcia and Mandi Moore all recorded double-digit scoring and Adams led the team with 17 points.
SOPHOMORE SENSATION: Sophomore Mandi Moore scored a combined 12 points in two previous meetings with San Diego State this season. In the quarterfinal game against the Aztecs she had a game-high 11 points at the half and finished with 15 points. It was Moore’s 10th game scoring in double-figures and her first in seven games.
PREVIOUSLY: In three meetings this season, the Lobos outscored the Aztecs 107-59 in the first half.
NEVER THE TWAIN SHALL MEET: The No. 1 an d No. 2 seeds have met only once in the conference championship finals (2000).
AWESOME ADAMS: Jordan Adams scored 25 points against BYU in the final regular season game to lead all scorers and put herself higher on UNM’s career scoring list. Adams needed only 13 points to move into second place in all-time scoring at UNM going into the BYU game. She now has 1,708 career points.
REJECTION: The Lobos have 119 blocks on the season. Every player on the team can say they have at least one rejection. Jordan Adams leads the Lobos with 69 blocks. The senior had her streak of at least one block broken against Colorado State. Against SDSU in the MWC Tournament, she blocked five shots setting a MWC Championship single-game record.
FROM THE FIELD: UNLV recorded a field goal percentage of 46% on Feb. 27, marking only the seventh time this season a team has shot over 40% against UNM. No team has shot higher than Colorado State’s 48% on Jan. 23.
CLEANING THE GLASS: The Lobos have proved its dominance on the boards this season. UNM has grabbed 181 more rebounds then its opponents, averaging 40.8 to 34.6 for a margin of +6.2. Against Memphis the Lobos grabbed a season-high 57 rebounds.
DOUBLING UP: Jordan Adams has had two double-doubles this year while Chelsea Grear has notched three. Adam’s latest double digit effort was against San Diego State when she had 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Grear last had a double-double against Wyoming with 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Mandi Moore joined the club with 16 points and 12 assists against Air Force.
PLAY-MAKER, PLAY-MAKER: Against BYU on March 8, Mandi Moore was perfect. She had 10 assists and zero turnovers. That marks the third time this season Moore has not recorded a turnover in a game. Moore has had seven games where she’s had nine or more assists.
FAN SUPPORT: The Lobos posted their highest attendance of the year against UNLV with a sellout crowd of 18,018. It was the fourth sellout in the history of UNM women’s basketball. UNM is 4th nationally, averaging 11,092, fans their highest average in school history. On March 8 against BYU the Lobos had 17,578 in attendance, marking the seventh time this season more than 10,000 fans have come to The Pit.
A MILE HIGH AND LOUDER THAN…: The Lobos are in their 12th season playing in one of the greatest home arenas in all of college basketball. UNM has an overall record of 125-62 (.668) in The Pit and is 54-31 in conference games (.635). Since Don Flanagan arrived on campus The Pit has welcomed the women’s basketball team with open arms. Since 1995, the Lobos are 111-24 (.822) overall and 48-9 (.842) in conference games.
DISHING IT OUT: Mandi Moore is making a name for herself in the MWC record books. She set the MWC sophomore record for assists in a game with 12 against Air Force and she continues to build on her record-setting freshman performance. Moore had a freshman record 146 assists last year and has 192 this season. Moore is currently fourth all-time at UNM with 338 assists and is second in season assist records.
THREE-POINT THREAT: The Lobos had their streak of at least one three-pointer a game broken against UNLV when they went 0-16. Cristal Garcia leads the team with 37 (.374) three-point buckets and the team is shooting .345 from behind the arc. UNM is holding its opponents to only .281 from the three-point line.
A 50-50 PROPOSITION: The Lobos have not had an opponent shoot over 50% this year. The highest field goal percentage an opponent has shot this year is 48% by CSU on Jan. 23. The Lobos have shot over 50% four times this year and have posted 40% or better in 20 games. They are 17-3 in those games.
MORE 50-50: The Lobos have held their opponents to less than 50% from field goal range in 82 straight games. The last opponent to shoot 50% or better against UNM was Oregon State in 2000-01 and the last conference foe to shoot over 50% was Colorado State in 1999-2000.
WINNING MARGIN: The Lobos have had nine games where the margin of victory was 20 points or more and six games where it was 30 points or more. The average winning margin is 11.7 points.
SEASON STATS: The Lobos are currently ranked high in several team season records. New Mexico has scored 1,940 points this year, good enough for 10th place. With UNM’s 34.5 three-point field goal percentage the Lobos have the best percentage for a season. The Lobos are seventh with 42.4 from field goal range. They are second in free throw percentage at 71.9. The 119 team blocks are fourth and the 487 assists are tied for third.
START ME UP: Mandi Moore is the only player on this year’s squad to have started every game of her career (60).
GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Lobos have ranked in the top-25 final NCAA statistics for defense every year since Coach Flanagan came on board. Last season the Lobos were ranked in field goal percentage defense and scoring defense. This season the Lobos have held their opponents to 35% shooting and only 55.2 points a game.
D-FENCE: UNM has outrebounded its opponents defensively in 19 games this year. Currently UNM has 813 defensive boards to its opponents 664. The Lobos are 19-3 when they grab more defensive boards than their opponents.
ALL-CONFERENCE: Senior Jordan Adams has been was named MWC first team for the first time. Adams has been second and third team all-conference but this is her first time on the first team. Chelsea Grear was chosen second-team and Mandi Moore was placed on the third-team.
SEASON ACCOLADES: Jordan Adams has been named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week three times this year. Cristal Garcia earned the award for the week of Feb. 24th.
FIVE FOR THE DRIVE: The Lobos now have five 20-win seasons under head coach Don Flanagan. UNM has had all five of its 20-win seasons under Flanagan with its best ever record of 26-7 coming in his third year, 1997-98.
LEADERS OF THE PACK: In MWC games the Lobos led the conference in blocked shots (4.4 bpg), free throw percentage (.786), field goal percentage defense (.353), rebounding margin (+4.5) and defensive rebounds (26.6). Jordan Adams led the league in blocked shots with 33.
MINUTE MANIPULATOR: Mandi Moore led the team in minutes last season, averaging 35.2. This season Moore has played the most minutes on the team at 1,042 (35.9 mpg). She is the only player this year to play an entire game and has done it seven times.
SIZE MATTERS: The Lobos have seven players on their roster that are 6’0 or taller. The starting five last season averaged 5’10.6. The three incoming freshman average 6’0.3. Jordan Adams and Jana Francis are the two tallest players on the roster at 6’3.
NOT BAD, FOR STARTERS: New Mexico returns four starters from the 2001-02 season (Mandi Moore, All-America candidate Jordan Adams, Lindsey Arndt and Chelsea Grear).
AN MVP PERFORMANCE: Jordan Adams was given MVP honors for the Southwest Airlines Lobo Shootout. Chelsea Grear and Abbie Letz were both named to the All-Tournament Team. In UNM’s other home tournament, the Holiday Inn Mountain View Invitational, Melissa Forest was given MVP honors with Jordan Adams and Cristal Garcia chosen for the All-Tournament team.
WE LIKE THE COLOR RED: The Lobos have two players redshirting this year. Jenny Shetters, a 6’4 transfer from Cal State Northridge, will have two years of eligibility while 6’1 Fort Lewis College transfer Judy Vogt will give the Lobos three years.
2001-02 RECAP: The Lobos ended the 2001-02 season with a record of 22-9, 10-4 in the Mountain West Conference. The Lobos were eliminated in the second round of the MWC Tournament, 71-58 by BYU and in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 58-44 by Notre Dame.
WATCHING JORDAN: Jordan Adams became the sixth player in UNM history to score 1,000 points last season and she has moved into second place overall. She is also attempting to become the school’s all-time shot blocker for both the men’s and the women’s teams, surpassing the men’s leader, Luc Longley.Scoring:In 2nd place – 1,708 pointsSurpassed Alison Foote at 1,672 on March 8thBlocks:Currently has – 327To surpass Luc Longley, she needs – 9
DOUBLE-DIGITS: The Lobos have had 10 games where they’ve recorded double-digit rebounding margins. In four games, UNM has grabbed 20 or more rebounds than its opponents.
MORE DOUBLE-DIGITS: The Lobos have been outrebounded only seven times this season and only one opponent, BYU, has made it a double-digit affair.
PERCENTAGES: Cristal Garcia’s .857 shooting from behind the arc against Colorado State on Feb. 22 is tied for the second-highest single-game percentage this season in the MWC.
CAREER WOMEN: Several UNM players are now in New Mexico’s career charts. Here is a list and where they rank:
ScoringJordan Adams – 2nd (1,708 pts.)ReboundingJordan Adams – 5th (699 reb.)Chelsea Grear – 7th (648 reb.)Field Goals MadeJordan Adams – 2nd (652 fgm)Field Goals AttemptedJordan Adams – 4th (1,388 fga)Field Goal %Jordan Adams – 9th (.469)3-Point Field Goal %Mandi Moore – 1st (.397)Free Throws AttemptedJordan Adams – 4th (458 fta)Free Throws MadeJordan Adams – 3rd (356 ftm)Free Throws %Jordan Adams – 3rd (.778)AssistsMandi Moore – 4th (338)BlocksJordan Adams – 1st (327)StealsChelsea Grear – 6th (146)
PRESEASON FAVORITES: Jordan Adams was chosen to the MWC preseason all-conference team. A second team all-conference pick last year, the 6-3 Adams ranks third all-time at UNM in points and is first all-time in blocks.
POLL POSITION: The Lobos were picked to finish third by the media in the 2002-03 Mountain West Conference race.
School (First Place Votes)Points1. BYU (8) 110 2. Colorado State (7) 103 3. New Mexico (1) 91 4. Utah 70 5. UNLV 69 6. Wyoming 49 7. San Diego State 31 8. Air Force 17