Don Flanagan, head coach of the UNM women's basketball team, said he considered Saturday's match-up against Weber State University to be a warm-up for Mountain West Conference play.
If the Lobos' 70-57 win was a mere warm-up, then expect center Jordan Adams to be a force in the MWC this season.
The senior scored 29 points and pulled down nine rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double and topping her career high of 30 points..
"She could've had 50," Flanagan said. "They were just rolling off. It wasn't that she as taking bad shots, they were just missing. They were guarding her straight up and when they're guarding her straight up we've got to go inside to her."
Sophomore guard Mandi Moore said she was surprised the Wildcats chose to defend Adams one-on-one.
"She's hard to defend straight up," she said. "I really don't know why teams do that. Their girl was six-four, so I guess they thought she could handle her. But she proved differently."
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The Lobos did a number defensively as well, containing the Wildcats' center Crystal Howe. Howe entered the game averaging 14.5 points per game and 11 rebounds per game.
But with UNM sophomore Lindsey Arndt guarding her early, the Weber State senior got in foul trouble and never found a shooting rhythm, finished the game with four points and six rebounds.
The Wildcats entered the game with a 3-1 record versus MWC teams -- including wins over the highly regarded University of Utah, the Air Force Academy and the University of Wyoming. Its lone loss was at Brigham Young University.
Early on, it looked as though Weber State might have what it took to beat the Lobos. Neither team looked very sharp at the beginning of the contest.
Both teams were cold shooting from the field as the Wildcats forged an early 6-5 lead. The Lobos took the physical game inside after that drawing fouls while Adams sat on the bench. UNM went on an 18-0 run as Weber State went cold from the field.
The Wildcats managed to make the final five minutes of the half competitive, but the Lobos managed a 7-0 run to enter halftime with a 33-18 lead.
The Lobos started strong, with Adams scoring UNM's first six points in the paint, but the Wildcats found their shooting touch as guards Julie Gjertsen and Shelia Robertson began hitting from the outside.
After trading 6-0 runs, Weber State took advantage of a lapse in intensity by UNM and put together a 13-4 run that brought Weber State to 59-53 with two minutes left in the game.
But the Lobos sewed up the game with an 8-0 run. UNM scored seven of its final 11 points at the free-throw line.
The Lobos improved to 10-3 on the season. Weber State fell to 8-5.
Moore said the game showed that UNM is ready for conference play, but not quite at the top of its game.
"We've improved, but we have a long way to go," she said. "Hopefully we start peaking through conference, but we have to up our game.
UNM opens conference play Saturday, Jan. 15, in The Pit against Air Force. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on KNML, 610 AM.
Lobo notes: As of last week, Mandi Moore was eighth in the nation and leading the Mountain West in assist-per-game with an average of 7.9. She had six assists against Weber State to bring her season total to 69.
l Entering Saturday's game, UNM was also in the top 25 in the NCAA in three other categories: scoring margin (+19.4; second in the MWC, 21st in the nation; field goal percentage - defense (33 percent allowed; second in the MWC, 12th in the nation) and assists (20.8 average; first in the MWC, eight in the nation).
l 82,751 fans have attended UNM's nine home games for an average of 9,195.
With seven home games left, including the annual "Pack the Pit" promotion, the Lobos will likely break their single season attendance mark (151,613) as well as the record for average attendance (9,229).
l UNM went 4-2 during winter break, with wins over Darthmouth, Memphis, New Mexico State and Weber State. The Lobos lost at Arizona and at home to Lousiana Tech. Both teams were nationally ranked. UNM also defeated Wisconsin Viking Club Red, a team that includes former lobos Tamika Stukes and Abbie Garchek, in an exhibition game at The Pit Jan. 7.
