Head coach Yvonne Sanchez said UNM’s defense will not have as gritty of a physical battle as it did in the 63-60 victory over the Rebels (6-11, 3-3 MW). However, Sanchez said the Lobos will need to cover the Cowgirls’ shooters in order to be successful.
“It’s hard to play Wyoming zone because they have such good shooters,” Sanchez said. “They can shoot from deep, so we will have to guard them deep.”
Defensively, the Lobos will need to keep an eye on Marquelle Dent. The junior guard is averaging 17.2 points per game, which is the second best in the Mountain West.
The Lobos will need to have as stout a defense as they did against UNLV. Although Danielle Miller, the Mountain West’s leading scorer, assembled an 18 point performance, she only hit four of her 20 attempted shots.
Offensively, Dent is more dangerous of a guard, ranking second in scoring, but feeding the ball better than anyone in the Mountain West, averaging 5.4 assists per game.
Defensively, the Cowgirls (7-9, 2-4 MW) will showcase a softer man defense, allowing them to collapse on the Lobos’ inside game.
“We’ll still have to get the ball inside, but we’re going to have to get some outside shots as well,” Sanchez said. “I don’t want to settle for outside shots, but we’re going to have to shoot the ball from the outside.”
Sanchez said the Lobos (8-10, 4-3 MW) are fortunate to be home in the midst of playing with a banged-up unit, but she doesn’t expect any team to be completely healthy at this point in the season.
“We’re going to play as hard as we can with who we have,” Sanchez said. “Nobody’s 100 percent right now; everybody’s going to be sore and tired.”
The grueling fight against the UNLV Rebels featured three players missing game time due to injury or illness. The only question mark for Saturday’s affair is junior forward Alexa Chavez, who suffered a significant blow, taking a charge from UNLV’s Miller late in Wednesday night’s victory.
Freshman guard Jayda Bovero has seen an increase in playing time to accommodate UNM’s injuries. Bovero said her ability to play a small forward or a big guard allows her to create some mismatches while also learning the pace at the collegiate level.
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“I don’t know where I will be playing against Wyoming, whether at guard or at the post,” Bovero said. “I have post moves inside, but I can also do things from the guard, so it’s kind of like ‘pick your poison’ at that point.”
Bovero is not the only freshman getting comfortable in the UNM system. Fellow freshman guard Cherise Beynon said the Lobos’ ability to win games without major players is boosting the team chemistry.
“We can be tough when faced with adversity,” Beynon said. “When someone else is down, we can pick up the slack and pull out the wins.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is the assistant sports editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at assistantsports@dailylobo or on twitter @Liam_CE.
