Lobos get to show the fruits of this week’s labor today
The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team has had a week to stew about its Preseason WNIT loss to Auburn.
The Lobos want this week to be different.
UNM (1-1) hosts Hartford (1-2) today in a tournament consolation game before taking another extended break. The Lobos visit Houston next Saturday.
Coach Mike Bradbury appreciates the relatively sparse early schedule, which affords the coaching staff an opportunity to drill fundamentals and shore up perceived weaknesses. Unfortunately for the players, there tends to be more to work on after a loss.
“We needed this week to work on ourselves,” Bradbury said. “I’m happy with our effort but we’re a young team with a long way to go. I do think we’ve made some progress this week. We’ll find out (today).”
UNM spent extra time working on its offense, which figures to face full-court zone pressure today from Hartford. The Hawks frequently employ the same 1-22 scheme that Auburn uses, and Bradbury hopes his team will benefit from last week’s experience.
The Lobos handled Auburn’s full-court press well enough, but they sometimes struggled in halfcourt sets, especially in the first half.
“Our offense needs better flow,” Bradbury said. “That’s been a
point of emphasis because we haven’t gotten off to very good starts.”
New Mexico’s defense also
required some polishing after surrendering 40 points in the paint against Auburn. The Lobos tried both man-to-man and zone
sets against the Tigers, but neither effectively kept the visitors away from the basket.
“When you give up 40 points in the paint and 17 offensive rebounds,” senior Jaisa Nunn said, “that’s not good enough. We need to do a better job communicating and helping out defensively.”
UNM’s defense received some good news this week when senior post Nike McClure’s left ankle injury was not as severe as initially feared. McClure was taken up the Dreamstyle Arena ramp on the back of a cart during the third quarter against Auburn and did not return.
But McClure returned to practice Friday with only a slight limp and appeared to be moving well. Barring a setback she’s likely to start today, Bradbury said.
“I hope she’s good to go,” he said, “because Hartford has some really athletic posts who can shoot the 3. Nike can get out on those shots when she’s at full speed.”
Bradbury also spent this week auditioning players for a starting guard position after sophomore Jaedyn De La Cerda struggled defensively against Auburn. Madi Washington, Ahlise Hurst and Quincy Noble were all under consideration Saturday.
“That’s another thing you can work on during a week like this,” Bradbury said. “We’re only two games into the season so we have to continue to get better. Hartford’s a good team. They’ll let us know if we’ve made any progress.”