UNM women to show what they've learned
Nov. 30—Mike Bradbury is willing to count his team's latest Texas road trip as a learning experience on one condition:
His team had to actually learn from it.
The Lobos (5-3) return home Tuesday night to face Grambling State and Bradbury wants to see some lessons from the weekend's Van Chancellor Classic put to use. UNM went 1-2 in the event, losing competitive games to 7-1 Stephen F. Austin and 6-1 Texas Tech and blowing out 2-6 Louisiana Monroe.
What insights might the Lobos have gleaned from those contests?
On the upside, UNM proved it is never out of a game. The Lobos cut a 20-point deficit to two in the fourth quarter against Stephen F. Austin and had a shot to tie in the closing seconds. They also continued to battle back against Texas Tech after falling into 15- and 16-point holes.
"Our offense was fine," Bradbury said. "We consistently got good shots even against really good teams. You'd like to make a few more but getting good shots is the big thing and we did that."
Other lessons were not as pleasant.
UNM's focus wandered against Stephen F. Austin, leading to that 20-point deficit and forcing the Lobos to scramble. Senior forward Shaiquel McGruder spent most of the evening on the bench after three first-half fouls, one of them a technical, and scored just two points.
McGruder bounced back to play well against ULM and Texas Tech, but the Lobos' defense faltered in the latter game. The Red Raiders shot 56% from the field against UNM, cashing in on far too many layups and open 3-point looks.
"We're not big inside so we have to execute on defense," Bradbury said. "We have to have everyone focused and engaged."
The Lobos will have an opportunity to show what they've learned against Grambling State (2-4), a team that's also been tested this season. The Tigers have faced the likes of Florida, Florida State and UNLV on the road and have largely held their own.
"They're athletic, quick and we expect them to put a lot of pressure on us, especially in the half court," Bradbury said. "They can shoot 3's and they have a pretty good post scorer. They can do all the things that have given us trouble."
The Lobos have not had many issues at home, where they are 4-0 and averaging 82.7 points per game.
MILESTONES: Jaedyn De La Cerda became the 23rd player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points on Sunday. She has 1,006 and could quickly climb into UNM's top 20. Up next on the list are Caroline Durbin (1,011 points), Tamika Stukes (1,017) and Tracy Satran (1,027).
Antonia Anderson (908 points) is on track to join the 1,000-point club this season. She's also moved into fifth place on the career blocks list with 137.
Bradbury needs one victory to reach 100 as UNM's head coach. He's 99-58 in five-plus seasons. Don Flanagan was the fastest to reach 100 wins at UNM, needing 150 games to get there.
