Going into the game, the Lobos were ranked second-worst in 3-point shooting percentage. However, the Lobos continued to shoot the deep ball despite the team’s low success rate in shots behind the arc. UNM went 3-10 from 3-point range in the first half.
“Sometimes there’s a reason you’re open,” head coach Yvonne Sanchez said. “We were beating them a lot inside a lot in the first half ... I told them we don’t need to take a lot or settle for jump shots.”
The Lobos made the second half adjustment to steer clear of shots deep shots as junior guard Bryce Owens made the only 3-pointer the Lobos shot in the second half. Owens finished her night with 15 points and the game-high four assists.
It took UNM the majority of the first half to find success on the offensive side of the ball. Once the Lobos began driving to the hoop, shots began to fall.
After a close 20-19 contest, New Mexico went on an 11-0 run late in the first half. Sanchez said the key to her team’s success was the aggressiveness to get to the hoop.
“We got to the rim and it wasn’t just post feeds,” Sanchez said. “We went downhill. This is the first time I’ve really seen kids go downhill off of ball screens and it’s a great improvement.”
Although the stat sheet only credits the Lobos with 28 points in the paint, UNM was taking mid-range shots instead of hurling up the deep ball in the early stages of the game.
“Coach emphasized that at the media timeouts that we weren’t going to settle for jumpers and we’re not a very good 3-point shooting team right now and I think she’s right,” Owens said. “Once we strayed away from that and got back to what was working for us, which was going to inside and getting to the paint, we were able to score.”
Part of the reason UNM may have been eager to pull the trigger from 3-point land was Boise State’s attitude to live and die by the 3 ball. The Broncos hit more 3’s in the first half than two-point shots going 5-10 from deep.
However, New Mexico’s defense tightened up on the Broncos, holding them to a 7-23 performance on the night from beyond the arc.
“We just stuck it out and kept playing hard,” freshman guard Cherise Beynon said. “The defense won us the game again.”
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
UNM’s adjustment to not settle and rely on its defense paid off for the Lobos, coming off a loss to UNLV on Saturday which snapped their eight-game winning streak. By driving to the basket and not forcing shots, UNM (16-11, 12-4 MW) went 11-24 from the field in the second half, far better than the 9-31 performance from the visiting Broncos.
After losing to Boise State 86-65 in Idaho, the Lobos sought out revenge in a game they never trailed. Since the game against the Broncos (17-9, 9-6 MW) on Jan. 17, New Mexico has won nine of its last 10 and the squad finds themselves in a position to fight for a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
“I just think we’re going to go one game at a time; we have to. I know that sounds boring but that’s what has worked,” Sanchez said. “I have rarely looked at the standings this year... I’ve thought from day one that if we got better every single day, everything would take care of itself.
Liam Cary-Eaves is the assistant sports editor for the Daily Lobo he can be reached at assistantsports@dailylobo.com or on twitter @Liam_CE.
