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LETS DANCE: The University of New Mexico Lobos have advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. The Lobos, winners of the Mountain West Conference tournament, defeated the University of Miami in the first round 91-85 in overtime and then Mississippi State, 73-61.The Lobos will meet up with Texas Tech in the second game on Saturday night. 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 and Texas Tech is the No. 2 seed. The Red Raiders advanced to the Round of 16 with a 72-68 defeat of No. 7 seed UC-Santa Barbara.New Mexico is 24-8 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. Texas Tech is 28-5 overall, 13-3 in the Big 12. 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.
NCAA RECAP Mississippi State: Sixth-seeded New Mexico opened with six straight threes in the first 15 minutes of the first half and never looked back en route to a convincing 73-61 victory over the No. 3 seed, Mississippi State, in a second round NCAA Tournament match-up on Monday night. Senior center Jordan Adams and sophomore point guard Mandi Moore scored 19 points apiece to lead UNM (24-8) in the upset over 12th-ranked MSU (24-8) in front of a frenzied sellout Pit crowd of 16,214.NOTES: Jordan Adams five blocks gave her the career blocks lead (341) among both the mens and womens programs With 19 points and 10 rebounds, Adams recorded her third double-double of the season and the 11th of her career. Mandi Moore connected on a career-high five three-pointers on her way to 19 points and eight rebounds. Both Moore and Adams played a full 40 minutes. For Adams it was her first complete game while it was the ninth for Moore including her second straight. New Mexicos 13 three-pointers were the second most in Midwest Region First/Second Round history. The Lobos held the 12th ranked Lady Bulldogs to 61-points on 30.5% shooting, both season lows for Mississippi State.
NCAA RECAP Miami: Jordan Adams scored 27 points and had a career-high eight blocks to lead the sixth-seeded University of New Mexico to a thrilling 91-85 overtime victory over the No. 11 seed Miami Hurricanes in Saturday night’s first round NCAA Tournament game. A capacity crowd of 16,151 at The Pit saw New Mexico erase a 14-point second half deficit over the final 15 minutes of regulation, then outscore Miami 14-8 in overtime to earn its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.NOTES: Miamis 40-29 lead at the half was the most UNM had faced during the season. New Mexico is 6-5 when trailing at the half. Mandi Moore led the team with nine rebounds. It was the fifth time the 5-7 point guard has led the team in rebounding. Jordan Adams had a game-high 27 points. It was her eighth game this year with 20+. UNM is 6-2 when Adams scores 20 or more. Chelsea Grear added 18 points and six rebounds. It was her highest scoring game since she poured in 20 against UNLV on February 1. Miamis 85 points were the most scored against New Mexico this season. New Mexico State held the previous high in an 86-75 loss to the Lobos on December 3. UNM improved to 1-1 in overtime games this season. UNMs 91 points were its highest in three NCAA Tournament appearances.
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 womens basketball. New Mexico sold out both its first and second round NCAA Tournament games with the Sweet 16 matchup against also being sold out. UNM is 4th nationally, averaging 11,658 fans its highest average in school history.
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 127-62 (.672) in The Pit and is 54-31 in conference games (.635). Since Don Flanagan arrived on campus The Pit has welcomed the womens basketball team with open arms. Since 1995, the Lobos are 113-24 (.825) 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-MWC
SEEDINGS : During the second round of play in the NCAA Tournament, three of the six No. 6 seeds were victorious over No. 3 seeds. Prior to that the No. 3 seed was 63-12 against the No. 6 seed.
ABOUT TEXAS TECH: Texas Tech is making its 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Raiders have advanced to the Sweet 16 eight times, the Elite Eight three times, the Final Four once and won the National Championship in 1993. Texas Tech is now 11-3 in second round action and 20-1 overall at home in the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Raiders are being led by forward Plenette Pierson (18.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg).
COMMON OPPONENTS: The Lobos and the Lady Raiders have had three common opponents this season. The Lobos and the Lady Raiders both lost to the Lady Techsters. UNM lost 67-54 and Texas Tech was defeated 85-76. Against Wyoming, Texas Tech was victorious 84-64 and New Mexico split with the Cowgirls, Wyoming won the first game, 72-58 and UNM won the second 70-37. Texas was the third and final common opponent. UNM defeated the Longhorns 77-70 and Texas Tech lost twice to Texas, 69-58 and 70-67.
LOBOS VS. THE BIG 12: UNM is 18-29 all-time against current members of the Big 12. The Lobos faced 0nly one Big 12 team this season when they defeated Texas, 77-70. Last season the Lobos faced Texas Tech garnering their first ever victory over the Lady Raiders, 74-65.
ABOUT DUKE: The Blue Devils are coming off a 31-1 season. Duke will be making its sixth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. The Blue Devils currently have a 13 game winning streak. Duke made it to the Sweet 16 by defeating Georgia State, 66-48 in the first round and then Utah, 65-54 in the second round. The Blue Devils are currently being led by Alaina Beard (21.9 ppg and 7.0 rpg). Beard is a WBCA/Kodak All-America finalist.Duke Probable StartersF #33 Iciss Tillis, 6-4, Jr., 14.6 ppg, 7.6 rpgF #41 Michele Matyasovky, 6-1, Sr., 5.3 ppg, 3.7 rpgG #20 Alaina Beard, 5-11, Jr., 21.9 ppg, 7.0 rpgG #10 Lindsey Harding, 5-8, Fr., 6.4 ppg, 3.9 rpgG #12 Vicki Krapohl, 5-5, Jr., 5.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg
LOBOS VS. DUKE: UNM and Duke have never met each other, but have one common opponent from this year. Duke and New Mexico both played Utah. The Blue Devils defeated the Utes in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, 65-54 while UNM split with the Utes in the regular season, losing at Utah 64-61 in overtime and then winning at home 51-48.
ABOUT GEORGIA: The fifth seeded Georgia Lady Bulldogs are making their 13th appearance in the Sweet 16. Georgia advanced to the Midwest Regional by defeating Charlotte 80-61 in the first round and Rutgers 74-64 in the second round. Georgia is led by Christi Thomas (16.1 ppg and 7.9 rpg) Georgia Probable StartersF #3 Mary Beth Lycett, 6-0, Sr., 9.8 ppg, 4.3 rpgF #42 Marquita Driskell, 6-3, Fr., 6.1 ppg, 4.2 rpgC #4 Christi Thomas, 6-5, Jr., 16.1 ppg and 7.9 rpgG #2 Tina Taylor, 5-6, Jr., 2.2 ppg, 1.9 rpgG #31 Alexis Kendrick, 5-7, Fr., 12.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg
LOBOS VS. GEORGIA: UNM and Georgia have never met each other before. The Lobos have matched up with six SEC teams and have an 0-6 record against member schools of that conference.
LOBOS IN NCAA TOURNAMENT STATS: MWC Tournament MVP Jordan Adams recorded an NCAA Tournament high eight blocked shots vs. Miami in the first round. Adams leads the NCAA field with 13 blocks and is tied for 13th in scoring with 23 points per game. Mandi Moore is seventh in three-point field goal percentage at .692 (9-of-13). As a team, the Lobos tallied an NCAA Tournament high 13 triples vs. Mississippi State in the second round. The Lobos rank third in field goal percentage (.513) and 13th in field goal percentage defense (.362), while leading the tournament in defensive rebounding (35.5 per game) and placing second with 10.5 made treys per game. UNM set the NCAA Tournament First/Second Round record for attendance as 16,151 fans jammed The Pit for the opening round, breaking the previous mark of 13,617 at Iowa State in 2000. UNM topped that in the second round with 16,214.
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 conferences 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 shes 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 games 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 selected to the All-Tournament Team. 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 Moores 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 136-54 (72%) since the 1997-98 season, an average of 22.7 wins a year. UNM had never won 20 games in a season prior to Flanagans arrival eight years ago.
STREAKING: The Lobos are trying to equal their longest winning streak since Don Flanagan came on board. In the 1996-97 season, UNM started the season off going 9-0. The last time New Mexico was 8-0 was in the beginning of the 1997-98 season.
UNM VS. RANKED TEAMS: UNM is 3-2 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. In the postseason UNM defeated Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Bulldogs were ranked 12th.
SCORING FRENZY: The Lobos are 13-8 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 26 double-figure games.
AWESOME ADAMS: In the postseason Adams scored in double-figures in both NCAA Tournament games, averaging 23 ppg. She ranks second all-time at UNM with 1,771 career points. She is also in the top-10 in career rebounding (5th724), field goals made (1st677), blocks (1st341).
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 schools all-time shot blocker for both the mens and the womens teams, surpassing the mens leader, Luc Longley.Scoring:In 2nd place 1,771 pointsNeeds 665 more to move into first place (1,836)Blocks:Currently has 341Surpassed Luc Longley on March 24
BLOCK PARTY: Against Mississippi State Jordan Adams became UNMs all-time leader in blocked shots among both the mens and womens programs. Her five blocks in the game gave her a total of 341, moving her past Luc Longley of the mens team. Adams also moved into tenth place on the NCAA all-time list.
BLOCKING OUT: The Lobos are 22-2 when they outblock their opponent.
REJECTION: The Lobos have 134 blocks on the season. Every player on the team can say they have at least one rejection. Jordan Adams leads the Lobos with 82 blocks. Against SDSU in the MWC Tournament, she blocked five shots setting a MWC Championship single-game record. In two NCAA Tournament games, Adams has blocked 13 shots including eight against Miami which tied her career-high.
CENTURY CLUB: Three current Lobos have played in over 100 games during their careers. Jordan Adams has played in 126 games, Chelsea Grear has participated in 123 and Cristal Garcia has seen action in 106 games.
TEAM DEFENSE: Miami recorded a field goal percentage of 42% marking only the eighth time this season a team has shot over 40% against UNM. No team has shot higher than Colorado States 48% on Jan. 23. The Lobos have held their opponents to less than 50% from the field in 85 straight games. The last opponent to shoot 50% or better against UNM was Oregon State, who shot 50% (26-of-52) on December 28, 2000. CLEANING THE GLASS: The Lobos have proved its dominance on the boards this season. UNM has grabbed 185 more rebounds then its opponents this season. The Lobos outrebound their foes by an average of +5.8. Against Memphis the Lobos grabbed a season-high 57 rebounds.
DOUBLING UP: Jordan Adams and Chelsea Grear have notched three double-doubles this year . Adams latest double digit effort was against Mississippi State when she had 19 points and a 10 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: Mandi Moore has a 1.96 assist-to-turnover ratio, good enough for second in the Mountain West Conference. In three games this season she has not recorded a turnover. Moore has had seven games where shes 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. She is also the MWC season assist leader. Moore had a freshman record 146 assists last year and has 208 this season. Moore is currently fourth all-time at UNM with 348 assists and is first in season assist records.
THREE-POINT THREAT: Mandi Moore leads the Lobos with 40 (45.5%) three-point buckets. She is UNMs career leader in three-point field goal percentage at 42.0% (68-162). The team is shooting 34.9% from behind the arc and is holding opponents to only 28.3%.
START ME UP: Mandi Moore is the only player on this years squad to have started every game of her career (63).
MINUTE MANIPULATOR: This season Moore has played the most minutes on the team at 1,167 (36.5 mpg). She has played an entire game nine times, including the last two. Jordan Adams is the only other player to have logged a full 40 minutes of action this season. She went the distance against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
A 50-50 PROPOSITION: The Lobos shot 54.8% from the floor (34-62) against Miami in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. UNM has shot over 50% five times this year and are 5-0 in those games.
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 11.3 points.
MORE WINNING: Under Don Flanagan (1995-2003), the Lobos are 6-1 when scoring 90 or more points. UNM is also 24-1 under Flanagan when scoring at least 80 points.
SEASON STATS: The Lobos are currently ranked high in several team season records. New Mexico has scored 2,156 points this year, good enough for 5th place. With UNMs 34.9 three-point field goal percentage the Lobos have the best percentage for a season. The Lobos are tied for fourth with 42.7 from field goal range. They are fourth in free throw percentage at 70.2 and rebounding with 1,315. The 134 team blocks are third and the 535 assists are second.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Lobos have ranked in the top-25 final NCAA statistics for defense every year since Coach Flanagan came on board. At the end of the 2003 regular season the Lobos ranked ninth in field goal percentage defense (35%) and 11th in scoring defense (54.9%).
D-FENCE: UNM has outrebounded its opponents defensively in 25 games this year. The Lobos are 21-3 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.
SIZE MATTERS: The Lobos have seven players on their roster who are 60 or taller. The starting five last season averaged 510.6. The three incoming freshman average 60.3. Jordan Adams and Jana Francis are the two tallest players on the roster at 63.
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 UNMs 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 64 transfer from Cal State Northridge, will have two years of eligibility while 61 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 Garcias .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.
DOUBLE-DIGITS: The Lobos have had 10 games where theyve 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.
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
CAREER WOMEN: Several UNM players are now in New Mexicos career charts. Here is a list and where they rank:
ScoringJordan Adams 2nd (1,771 pts.)ReboundingJordan Adams 5th (724 reb.)Chelsea Grear 7th (670 reb.)Field Goals MadeJordan Adams 1st (677 fgm)Field Goals AttemptedJordan Adams 4th (1,436 fga)Field Goal %Jordan Adams Tied for 7th (.471)3-Point Field Goal %Mandi Moore 1st (.420)Free Throws MadeJordan Adams 2nd (369 ftm)Free Throws AttemptedJordan Adams 3rd (507 fta)Free Throws %Jordan Adams 6th (.728)AssistsMandi Moore 4th (354)BlocksJordan Adams 1st (341)StealsChelsea Grear Tied for 5th (151)Mandi Moore 9th (306)