New Mexico Lobos Thanksgiving Tournament – In The Pit
Saturday: Cal Riverside 70, New Mexico Lobos 62; Boston University 62, Stephen F. Austin 57
Friday: New Mexico 56, Boston University 49; California Riverside 90, Stephen F. Austin 62.
All-Tournament Team: Cal Riverside — Brittany Crain (MVP), Simone DeCoud; New Mexico — Antiesha Brown; Boston U — Sarah Hope; SFA — Tierany Anderson.
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
It was a career game for Lobo Josie Greenwood: 15 points and seven boards. Unfortunately, it was just another ho-hum day at the office for Cal Riverside’s Brittany Crain, who poured in 31 points in Riverside’s 70-62 win in the championship game of the Lobo Thanksgiving Tournament.
“She is just a relentless player,” said New Mexico’s Antiesha Brown of the tournament’s Most Valuable Player from Riverside. Brown also made the all-tourney team. “She is strong and she knows how to use her body and play to the defensive weaknesses. She knows how to score.”
Said Lobo Coach Yvonne Sanchez: “She is that good.”
Greenwood’s previous career high as a Lobo was four points. The Lobo sophomore was joined in double figures by Brown with 16 andKhadijah Shumpert with 11 points and eight boards.
“I learned that I was trying too hard,” said Greenwood of her dramatic increase in scoring. “I needed a calmer mindset and let the game come to me. I’m really working on my positive mindset and handling my nerves.”
Said Sanchez: “I was really proud of her. Best game I’ve seen Josie play. She is such a smart kid and she really used her abilities and did what she is suppose do on both ends of the court.”
Crain was joined in double figures by Simone DeCoud with 13 and Annelise Ito with 14 points and seven boards. DeCoud had seven assists and UNM’s Brown had five assists. Crain added four steals for her team.
Coach Sanchez said she was not happy with her team’s defensive efforts vs. Riverside.
“It’s a disappointing loss,” said Sanchez, who saw her Lobos fall to 1-5 on the season. “We need to find people who are going to step up on the defensive end and it’s disappointing when we didn’t. That’s what lost the game for us. We didn’t guard the way we were supposed to.
“I told them, ‘This is a disappointing loss.’ The other ones I could take. I don’t think we played smart. Khadijah can’t foul out trying to block shots. That’s not smart basketball.”
The Lobos had a good shooting night at 44.1 percent, but Riverside shot 44.6 percent. UNM too often sent the quick Highlanders to the free-throw line where they went 16-of-21. UNM was 8-of-10 from the line. UNM won the boards 36-to-30. UNM had 14 turnovers and only forced Riverside into six turnovers. The UNM bench outscored Riverside’s subs 27-to-7.
“I think we got on our heels a little bit,” said Brown. “I would say we lost our aggressiveness. I would not say we were the aggressors on defense.”
Said Greenwood: “We lost our aggressiveness. If anything, it’s a learning point. We need to keep our discipline and learn to transfer what we learn in practice to the game.”
The Lobos’ next game is 6 p.m. (MT), Wednesday, Dec. 3 at Texas. The Lobos are hoping that Alexa Chavez and Bryce Owens are a go for that road game. They missed the Riverside run for health reasons. “Those two would have made a difference,” said Sanchez. “Those two have to get healthy, but other people have to step up and it’s disappointing when they didn’t.”
The two teams came out of the halftime break locked at 33-all and at the 10:31 mark of the second half, Riverside was up a point, 49-48. The Lobos were having trouble with Crain and Riverside had been hurt by eight straight points coming off the hands of Brown and Greenwood.
Riverside came out of that 10:31 break and ran to a 53-48 lead. Sanchez burned a timeout. The Highlanders went up 57-51 before Greenwood dumped a soft pass to Shumpert inside: 57-53. Brown then made a steal at half court and fed Laneah Bryan for a layup: 57-55. It was Riverside’s turn to ask for a team huddle.
The huddle seemed to work for the Highlanders. They came out to slide into a 63-55 lead. The last points were a 3-pointer than came off a UNM turnover. Sanchez asked for another timeout at 5:09. UNM missed a trey and Crain smoothly popped in a 15-footer: 65-55.
At the 3:42 mark, Shumpert went to the bench with her fifth foul and her Lobos down 65-57. Ito hit her two free throws and Riverside was back up by ten: 67-57. The Lobos then got a 10-foot baseline jumper from Brown followed by a set play to Brea Mitchell coming off a screen for a trey: 67-62. UNM called time at 2:17.
“We ran some good stuff. We got shots,” said Sanchez.
The Highlanders came out of the break in an aggressive man defense to take away the trey. UNM ended its possession with an air ball out of bounds trying to beat the shot clock. Riverside hit a trey to go up 70-62 to seal the win.
“When we had to make stops on the defensive end, we didn’t do it,” said Sanchez. “That’s more disappointing than anything.”
First Half: New Mexico 33, Cal Riverside 33
Cal Riverside got 14 first-half points from Crain and UNM got eight points from Antiesha Brown. UNM shot 44.8 percent from the floor to 40 percent for Riverside. UNM won the battle on the glass 19-to-15. Shumpert had six points and six boards and Greenwood had six points and four rebounds.