Exhibition win over Fort Lewis suggests Lobo women are ready
Nov. 4—This one had an exhibition vibe.
The University of New Mexico women's basketball team gave its starters most of the night off and didn't really miss them in a 95-54 romp over Fort Lewis College on Thursday night at the Pit.
The Lobos, who open the regular season Monday at Southern Utah, looked ready for games that count in the Thursday's opening minutes. UNM hit 9 of its first 11 from 3-point range, racing to a 37-12 lead early in the second quarter and never looking back.
"We're obviously a shooting team," said sophomore Viane Cumber, who swished two of the early 3s and finished with 10 points. "When we're hitting 3s like that, we can score a lot of points in a hurry. It felt great to start like that tonight."
Thursday's win was in stark contrast to UNM's 94-85 exhibition win over Lone Star Conference favorite West Texas A&M last weekend, which remained close until the fourth quarter. Exhibition No. 2 did go exactly to plan, however, Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said.
"We were hoping to play our starters five minutes in each half," he said, "and we were able to do that. But the most impressive thing to me was that with extended minutes, our younger players made the right plays. Instead of trying to get their points, they made multiple extra passes and we ended up getting wide-open shots."
UNM's starters did considerable damage in their brief appearance. LaTora Duff was close to perfect in her 10-plus minutes, hitting all five of her shots (three of them 3-pointers) for a game-high 13 points, collecting five assists and a steal with no turnovers. LaTascya Duff added 12 points and four steals in 12 minutes of action.
But this game was all about giving some playing time to UNM's reserves, and they made their minutes count. Fourteen of the 15 Lobos scored, all played at least seven minutes, and an announced crowd of 4,256 enjoyed plenty of entertaining moments.
Some came from freshman point guard Jaeylyn Bates, who had eight points and five assists, some on pinpoint passes that drew cheers from the Pit crowd. Others came from freshman post Brooke Berry, who had four points, four rebounds, a block and a steal while making several impressive hustle plays diving on the court.
"I've actually never played post before," said the 6-foot Berry, "but that's what the coaches see me as, so I'm trying to fit into that role. The only thing you can really control is hustle, so if I end up with a few floor burns, that's OK."
Freshman Lanae Billy, a Piedra Vista High School alum, paced Fort Lewis with 10 points, but the overmatched Skyhawks simply had no answers for UNM's sizzling offense. The Lobos hit three straight 3-pointers to start the game, bringing an early timeout from the Fort Lewis bench. The Skyhawks switched to a zone defense but it made little difference as UNM buried three more 3s on its way to a 26-7 lead.
To their credit, the Skyhawks hit several remarkably difficult shots, including a pair of driving, twisting baskets by Ruby Sweeney-Spitzeck, who had nine points. The outcome was never in doubt, however, and UNM appeared more than ready to turn its attention to Monday's opener.
Statistics: UNM 95, Fort Lewis 54 (exhibition)
MONDAY: Opener, UNM at Southern Utah, 7 p.m., 610 AM/95.9 FM
