New Mexico head coach Yvonne Sanchez had a message to her team: Play with no fear.
Sanchez said her group came out timid in UNM’s 51-46 loss to Utah State on Saturday. The loss marked the third in a row for New Mexico, the second consecutive at home.
Though the Lobos (11-10, 4-6 MW) may be out of reach of a regular-season title, Sanchez said there is ample time to get back up to make a run at the postseason.
"There is still plenty of time to turn this thing around and then get three at the Mountain West tournament," Sanchez said. "And that’s our goal.”
Although the Lobos have been a forced to be reckoned with in recent years at the MW tournament, Sanchez said her squad has to play smarter basketball in order to achieve the offseason goal of making it to the postseason.
“It’s just a matter from the shoulders up, you’ve got to get tougher,” Sanchez said. “They’re learning, they’re getting better, and those three seniors want to end on a high note.”
Sanchez said in Monday’s press conference that she has to remain positive everyday for her student-athletes. In slumps, she said, it can be the most important thing to do.
As far as what the Lobo need to accomplish on Wednesday, keeping up their solid defensive efforts will be a huge stepping stone against one of the premier offensive guards in the league.
“They’ve got the best point guard in the conference, in my opinion, in Funda Nakkasoglu,” Sanchez said. “She had 32 the other night against Wyoming and pretty much willed that win.”
Utah State (11-11 6-5 MW) is coming off an 84-75 home win against Wyoming on Saturday afternoon.
Nakkasoglu showcased her offensive abilities as a scorer against Wyoming, a stat well documented with her conference leading 21.55 points per contest. However the sophomore guard also collected a team-high eight assists on the night.
“Don’t foul her, keep her off the line for sure,” Sanchez said in regards to the defensive gameplan for Nakkasoglu. “But make her take contested jump shots."
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“If she scores 32 or 34 points on contested jump shots then so be it. But keeping her in front, contesting jump shots… you’ve got to keep her in front,” she said.
With eight games left in the regular season, four of which are at home, the Lobos do have some time to garner some momentum before heading to Las Vegas in the middle of March for the Mountain West Tournament.
“You can’t quit on anybody, players teams, or whatever,” Sanchez said. “We still feel like this is going to be a good situation and a good year for us.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers volleyball, women’s basketball, baseball, and beach volleyball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
