Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
LET’S DANCE: The University of New Mexico Lobos, winners of the Mountain West Conference tournament ,have been rewarded for a stellar season with a No. 6 seed and a chance to play their games at home. UNM will meet the University of Miami on Saturday on their home court, The Pit.The game will be broadcast live on 610 AM “The Sports Animal” and over the internet at www.610thesportsanimal.com. The game will also be televised on ESPN2.The Lobos are the No. 6 seed while the Hurricanes are No. 11. The other game pits No. 3 Mississippi State against No. 14 Manhattan College.The other Midwest Region games will be played in Raleigh, North Carolina, Athens, Georgia and Lubbock, Texas. The NCAA Women’s Final Four is April 6 and 8 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.New Mexico is 22-8 overall. Picked to finish third in the MWC preseason poll, the Lobos finished the regular season in second place at 9-5. UNM won its first MWC Tournament title and first conference championship since 1998.Miami is 18-12 overall, 8-8 in the Big East. This is the Lobos’ third showing in the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico qualified in 1998 by winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament and in 2002 by gaining an at-large bid. UNM, a 10 seed both years, fell to two No. 7 seeds, Nebraska 76-59 in 1998 and 58-44 to Notre Dame last year.
LOBOS IN NCAA/NIT: New Mexico has made five trips to the postseason, all in the past five years under head coach Don Flanagan. UNM is 6-5 in postseason, 0-2 in the NCAA and 6-3 in the Women’s NIT. The ledger:
1998NCAANebraska 76, New Mexico 59Norfolk, VA
1999WNITNew Mexico 81, Pepperdine 69AlbuquerqueNew Mexico 68, Washington 63AlbuquerqueDrake 73, New Mexico 60`Albuquerque
2000WNITLong Beach State 87, New Mexico 63Albuquerque
2001WNITNew Mexico 72, Houston 49AlbuquerqueNew Mexico 75, Arizona 62AlbuquerqueNew Mexico 77, UAB 55AlbuquerqueNew Mexico 68, Hawaii 43AlbuquerqueOhio State 62, New Mexico 61Albuqerque
2002NCAANotre Dame 58, New Mexico 44Knoxville, TN
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.
SEASON HONORS: Three Lobos were recognized when the Mountain West Conference handed out individual awards on March 10th. Adams was named all-conference for her third straight year. Moore and Grear were named all-conference for their second straight year.
Jordan Adams (Sr.)1st Team all-MWCChelsea Grear (Sr.)2nd Team all-MWCMandi Moore (So.)3rd Team all-MWCTournament ScheduleSaturday, March 22 – The Pit, Albuquerque, NM(3) Mississippi State vs. (14) Manhattan, 7:14 pm (MST)(6) New Mexico vs. (11) Univ. of Miami, 30 minutes after conclusion of game one
Monday, March 24 – The Pit, Albuquerque, NMMississippi State-Manhattan winner vs. New Mexico-Miami winner, time TBA
ABOUT MIAMI: This marks the fifth NCAA appearance for the Hurricane women, all of them under current head coach Ferne Labati. Miami is making their seventh postseason appearance in the 30 years of women’s basketball at the school. The most recent NCAA appearance for Miami was in 1998.
COMMON OPPONENTS: UNM and Miami have one common opponent, William & Mary. The Lobos defeated the Tribe 79-61. William & Mary traveled to Miami to participate in the Gatorade Holiday Classic with the Hurricanes getting the 85-57 win.
LOBOS VS. THE BIG EAST: UNM is 0-2 all-time against current members of the Big East. The Lobos faced a Big East team in 1981-82 when UNM and West Virginia matched up. The Mountaineers won that contest, 71-56. Last season the Lobos faced Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE: The Lady Bulldogs are coming off a 19-12 season. MSU has been to the NCAA Tournament three times before and made it to the second round in 2002 before losing to Texas Tech, 77-55. The Lady Bulldogs are being led by the SEC Player of the Year, LaToya Thomas. Thomas is a 6-2 forward who is averaging 25.6 ppg and 8.7 rpg. Mississippi State is currently 23-7 and they have beaten five ranked teams this year.Mississippi State Probable StartersF #32 LaToya Thomas, 6-2, Sr., 6-2, 25.6 ppg, 8.7 rpgF #33 Rebecca Kates, 6-1, So., 5.7 ppg, 4.2 rpgG #15 Tan White, 5-8, So., 18.0 ppg, 6.8 rpgG #5 Doceide Warren, 5-7, Fr., 8.8 ppg, 3.8 rpgG #12 Reenea Jones, 5-7, Sr., 4.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg
LOBOS VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE: UNM and MSU have met only one time. In 2000-01 Mississippi State traveled to Albuquerque for the Southwest Airlines Lobo Shootout. The Lady Bulldogs won the tournament defeating the Lobos 66-49 in the championship game.
ABOUT MANHATTAN COLLEGE: The Lady Jaspers are making their fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament. Manhattan won the MAAC Tournament capturing the conference’s automatic bid. The Lady Jaspers defeated Siena College 65-57 in the championship game. Manhattan is being paced by Rosalee Mason who is averageing 16.3 ppg and 11.5 rpg.Manhattan College Probable StartersF #43 Rosalee Mason, 5-10, Jr., 16.3 ppg, 11.5 rpgF #45 Sara Sangar, 6-0, Sr., 6.4ppg and 3.6 rpgG #32 Siobhan Kilkenny, 5-8, Sr., 11.8 ppg, 6.0 rpgG #12 Tiffany Schettig, 5-6, Sr., 10.8 ppg, 3.1 rpgG #23 Christine Bach, 5-8 Sr., 3.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg
LOBOS VS. MANHATTAN: UNM and Manhattan have never met each other before and the Lobos have never matched up with anyone from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
MWC IN THE NCAAs: Three Mountain West Conference institutions are being represented in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. BYU, Utah and UNM are all in the Big Dance. Mountain West Conference regular season champions Utah is a No. 8 seed playing No. 9 DePaul in Raleigh, North Carolina. BYU, who the Lobos defeated in the MWC Championship game, is a No. 11 seed matching up with No. 6 Colorado in Boulder.
MWC TOURNAMENT RECAP: The Lobos knocked off San Diego State in the quarterfinals, 54-49 before moving on to face Colorado State in the semifinals. The Rams and the Lobos had split during the regular season and UNM got the 65-51 victory.The Lobos and BYU matched up for the first-time ever in the championship game. UNM came away with the 52-46 win and the conference’s automatic bid.Mandi Moore was the only New Mexico player to score in double-figures, 15 points, guiding UNM to the win over San Diego State. Chelsea Grear contributed eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds, marking the fifth time she’s had double-figure rebounds. Jordan Adams added seven points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Adams five blocks set the MWC Championship single-game record. The Lobos shot 36% (18-50) from the floor and outrebounded the Aztecs 40-31. San Diego State shot 35% (19-53) for the game and depsite an 11-0 run to start the second half, they never held the lead in the second stanza.The Colorado State Rams and the Lobos met for the third time in the 2002-03 season during the semifinal game. Colorado State had entered the tournament with a MWC-high 8.4 made three-pointers in conference tournament games. UNM held CSU to just 4-of-18 from behind the arc. Jordan Adams had been just 4-for-16 in the previous two meetings against Colorado State but she would end up 6-of-10 for a game-high 17 points. The Rams scored at 18:14 in the first half, but went 10:18 without a basket, shooting 1-for-12 in that span as New Mexico jumped out to a 15-2 lead. The Rams pulled to within 15-8 with 6:58 remaining, but the Lobos responded with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes for a 25-8 lead. Colorado State would use a 19-8 run in the second half to close to within 52-47 with 5:07 remaining, the closest margin since UNM led 7-2 midway through the first half. The Lobos used a 13-4 run the last five minutes to post a 65-51 win.The Lobos and the Cougars met for the third time this season and the second time in the MWC Tournament. The two teams had split during the regular season and BYU had posted a 82-61 win over New Mexico in the 2002 conference semifinals. The game marked the lowest scoring game in the history of the MWC Tournament, 52-46. It was also one of the closest game with eight ties and 10 lead changes. The Lobos used a 7-0 run in the second half to take a 40-37 lead with 7:15 remaining and never trailed again. UNM senior Jordan Adams scored in double figures in all three meetings against BYU this season, including a game-high 17 points in the championship. BYU was just 4-of-19 from the three point line, shooting just 21%. The Cougars outshot the Lobos 35% to 32% and the two teams tied with 38 rebounds apiece. The main scoring difference was at the line where UNM shot 70% and BYU was just 50%.Jordan Adams averaged 13.7 ppg in the tournament earning tournament MVP honors. Mandi Moore was also chosen all-tournament. The championship marked the first time the Lobos have ever won the MWC Tournament crown and only the second title overall.
CONFERENCE TOURNEY NOTES: • In three meetings this season, the Lobos outscored the Aztecs 107-59 in the first half. UNM held a 34-22 advantage at the break on March 12th.•The Aztecs and the Lobos met for the third straight year in the MWC Tournament with New Mexico winning the prior two games. With the win UNM pulled even in the all-time series, 13-all.• Mandi Moore had scored a combined 12 points in two meetings vs. SDSU this season. In the quarterfinal game she had 11 points at the half and finished with 15 points. It marked Moore’s 10th game scoring in double figures this season and her first in seven games.• Mandi Moore played all 40 minutes against San Diego State, the seventh time this season.• New Mexico wasx 9-for-15 from the free throw line in the first half compared to just 1-of-1 for Colorado State. The Lobos finished the game going 22-of-36 from the line while the Rams were 9-of-14.• After shooting over 45% from the field in four straight games, the Rams shot just 39% from the field vs. the Lobos on March 14th. • The 42 total points in the first half between UNM and CSU tied for the third-lowest total in MWC Tournament history.• The Lobos missed their first nine three-point attempts and finished just 6-of-23 (26%) in the game from behind the arc. In two regular season meetings vs. BYU, UNM shot 11-of-28 from beyond the arc (39%).
FIVE FOR THE DRIVE: New Mexico logged its third straight 20-win season and fifth overall under head coach Don Flanagan. The Lobos were 26-7 in 1997-98, 24-7 in 1998-99, 22-13 in 2001-02 and 22-9 last year. The five 20-win campaigns have come in the past six years as UNM is now 134-54 (71%) since the 1997-98 season, an average of 22.3 wins a year. UNM had never won 20 games in a season prior to Flanagan’s arrival eight years ago.
UNM VS. RANKED TEAMS: UNM went 2-2 against ranked opponents in 2002-03 with wins over then-No. 16 Texas and then-No. 25 Utah. The losses have come against No. 24 Arizona and No. 12 Louisiana Tech. The Lobos are 6-17 against ranked foes under head coach Don Flanagan.
SCORING FRENZY: The Lobos are 12-8 when they have at least three 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 24 double-figure games.
AWESOME ADAMS: Jordan Adams needed only 13 points to move into second place in all-time scoring at UNM going into the final regular season game against BYU. She scored 25 and now has 1,725 career points.
CENTURY CLUB: Three current Lobos have played in over 100 games during their careers. Jordan Adams has played in 124 games, Chelsea Grear has participated in 121 and Cristal Garcia has seen action in 103 games.
REJECTION: The Lobos have 120 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 40.7 to 34.7 for a margin of +6.0. 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.
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: Cristal Garcia leads the Lobos with 37 (.363) three-point buckets and the team is shooting .341 from behind the arc. UNM is holding its opponents to only .278 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 83 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 11.5 points.
SEASON STATS: The Lobos are currently ranked high in several team season records. New Mexico has scored 1,992 points this year, good enough for 8th place. With UNM’s 34.1 three-point field goal percentage the Lobos have the best percentage for a season. The Lobos are seventh with 42.1 from field goal range. They are second in free throw percentage at 71.9. The 120 team blocks are tied for third and the 496 assists are third.
START ME UP: Mandi Moore is the only player on this year’s squad to have started every game of her career (61).
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 54.9 points a game.D-FENCE: UNM has outrebounded its opponents defensively in 23 games this year. Currently UNM has 842 defensive boards to its opponents 694. The Lobos are 19-3 when they grab more defensive boards than their opponents.
SEASON ACCOLADES: Jordan Adams was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week three times this year. Cristal Garcia earned the award for the week of Feb. 24th.
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 1,082 (36.1 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.
RECAPS: 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. In 2002-03 the Lobos were picked to finish 3rd in the Mountain West but they rose to the challenge and won the conference championship securing the automatic bid to the “Big Dance”. The Lobos got by San Diego State and Colorado state before eliminating BYU in the Championship game.
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.
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 – 1,725 pointsSurpassed Alison Foote at 1,672 on March 8thBlocks:Currently has – 328To tie Luc Longley, she needs – 8
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.
CAREER WOMEN: Several UNM players are now in New Mexico’s career charts. Here is a list and where they rank:
ScoringJordan Adams – 2nd (1,725 pts.)ReboundingJordan Adams – 5th (707 reb.)Chelsea Grear – 7th (657 reb.)Field Goals MadeJordan Adams – 1st (659 fgm)Field Goals AttemptedJordan Adams – 4th (1,405 fga)Field Goal %Jordan Adams – 9th (.469)3-Point Field Goal %Mandi Moore – 1st (.395)Free Throws MadeJordan Adams – 3rd (360 ftm)Free Throws AttemptedJordan Adams – 4th (461 fta)Free Throws %Jordan Adams – 3rd (.781)AssistsMandi Moore – 4th (344)BlocksJordan Adams – 1st (328)StealsChelsea Grear – 6th (147)
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. Here is how they were chosen at the beginning of the year and how they ended up.
School (First Place Votes)Final Record/Finish1. BYU (8)18-11/T3rd2. Colorado State (7) 18-12/T3rd3. New Mexico (1) 20-8/2nd4. Utah 22-5/1st5. UNLV 17-10/T3rd6. Wyoming 17-10/6th7. San Diego State 9-17/7th8. Air Force7-20/8th