In addition to the hot record at home, UNM (11-10, 7-3 MW) has put together four consecutive regular season conference wins for the first time since the 2006-2007 season.
“I don’t want to sit and compare one team to another, but I see a lot of this team in that team,” head coach Yvonne Sanchez said. “This team is very athletic, they’re very good, and they play well together.”
Despite a slow start in the first four minutes of the game, the Lobos got on a roll midway through the first half. UNM silenced Air Force for over seven minutes during a 19-0 run which set the tone for the rest of the contest.
“I don’t care who the team is or what their record is. It’s hard to beat Division 1 teams by more than 20 points,” Sanchez said. “We managed to do that and I credit my players for that. They are in a good place.”
Junior Khadijah Shumpert had the team-high 13 points in the contest and said she has proven she is back to her old self after an ankle injury. The forward tallied six boards and two assists to her stat line.
Shumpert said the Lobos success early in the ball game was due to the team’s energy and desire to set the tone. She added that the Lobos are playing with a stronger chemistry than they have in years past.
“I really think it has to do with our trip to Italy in the beginning,” Shumpert said. “It’s showing on the court now. It’s hard to put it in words how well we are doing and it all started in Italy.”
Even with the team’s heightened chemistry, Sanchez said she was not pleased with the way her squad came out of the locker room in the second half. Although the 25-point Lobo lead was quite a cushion, Air Force outscored UNM 33-31 in the second half.
“We got a little complacent because we got comfortable,” UNM freshman guard Cherise Beynon said. “We need to learn not to get too comfortable with teams like that.”
After allowing just 13 points in the first half, the Falcons (2-20, 1-10 MW) shot 50 percent from the field in the second half. However, the Lobos’ offense didn’t cool down at all in the second half either as the Lobos hit 40 percent of their shots in the final 20 minutes.
Sanchez said the Lobos are going to have to be able to shoot the ball in order to keep winning games. Although she was pleased with 36 points down low, she said the way teams have been jamming the middle is going to call for some outside shots.
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UNM’s head coach said she wishes that she were “wired differently,” referring to her inability to be content with a big victory. She said the team needs to continue to be hungry and continue to improve no matter the outcome.
“I don’t want them to be satisfied with where they are at,” Sanchez said. “There’s some really good things coming in the future.”
