by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
If anyone doubted the women's basketball team belonged in the top 25, the Lobos proved them wrong Wednesday night.
No. 10 Minnesota (4-1) came into The Pit and left with a 62-44 thrashing from No. 21 New Mexico (6-1). The Lobos dominated in all phases of the game, and came out with one of the biggest victories in program history. This came after UNM defeated Texas - ranked 12th at the time - by 76-68 on Nov. 18.
Head coach Don Flanagan said it's too early to say how good the team is, but the win is a big step in the right direction.
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"We don't know that yet because it's early in the season. That was a big win, obviously, along with the Texas win. Both of those were quite good wins," he said.
In the win against the Golden Gophers on Wednesday, the Lobos set the tempo with a stifling defense and an offense that could score from anywhere.
Minnesota entered the game averaging 79 points per game in its four wins. UNM almost cut that in half as it held the Golden Gophers to a season-low 44 points. The Lobos also held Minnesota to a lowly 28 percent shooting percentage, and forced 17 turnovers.
"We played some awesome defense tonight," guard Katie Montgomery said. "I think tonight was one of our best defensive games. We all came together."
Flanagan said part of the reason the defense was so successful was the execution of the full-court press. With 5:36 in the first half the game was tied 17-17, and at that point the Lobos started putting on pressure. Back-to-back Minnesota turnovers led to a three-pointer by Montgomery that put UNM on top 25-17 with 4:21 in the half.
Flanagan said he threw all of his defensive schemes at Minnesota. He said the full-court press played a big role in the victory.
"Everything I had, we gave them. (The press) had a disrupting force about it, and it bothered them. It changed the tempo of the game. It sped up the tempo and put them in some tough situations in the backcourt."
Flanagan said forward Tim E-Nunu is a defensive specialist, and she played a key role in the win. E-Nunu finished the game with three steals and was a factor in other key Minnesota mistakes. The 11,413 fans in The Pit showed their appreciation for the junior, as they chanted her name during the closing minutes.
E-Nunu said she was happy with the way she played, and more excited about the team victory.
"I take a lot of pride in my defense. Our team takes a lot of pride in our defense and we knew defense was going to win this game," she said.
On the offensive side, Montgomery did most of the damage. The junior was named Player of the Game. She scored 16 points, shooting 6-of-11 from the field and had only one turnover. 12 of her 16 points came from three-pointers and she went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Montgomery has been one of the leading scorers for UNM all season, second on the team averaging 10.3 points per game. She has been hot from three-point range all season, shooting 44 percent.
Montgomery said she has been in a groove when it comes to knocking down threes.
"I think when you start making some it gives you confidence. When you're shooting you don't even think about it and I've been hitting them lately," she said.
While E-Nunu and Montgomery had big games, Flanagan said the win was a total team effort.
"We had a lot of productivity from a lot of different people. I was happy with that," he said.
While Minnesota finished the game shooting 28 percent, UNM was much better as they made 44 percent of their shots.
"We shot a good percentage. Against good teams like that you've got to shoot a good percentage," Flanagan said.
A number of players on the team were playing with various illnesses and injuries, but battled through to help earn a victory.
"It was all mental," Montgomery said. "We came out confident and we trusted each other. We played very unselfishly and played very well together."