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New Mexico State women's basketball coach Darin Spence comes off like a big, nasty Grinch.

He is bracing for a blood bath when the Aggies (2-4) face the Lobos (4-2) Saturday night in The Pit.

New Mexico State has dropped 20 consecutive games to the University of New Mexico, with six of those coming while Spence has been rebuilding the Aggies program.

"Why should we beat them?" Spence asked. "They're the established program with all the talent and the resources. We're not supposed to catch them, and if we did, I'd think there was something really wrong.

"New Mexico is the program we'd like to become, but I know we're a long, long way from getting there. That's if we ever make it."

Not so fast.

The Lobos don't buy the doom and gloom.

Last season, the Aggies took UNM to triple overtime in Las Cruces before losing 79-77 and led the Lobos with less than four minutes left before losing 55-42 in The Pit.

"Oh no, they're good," senior point guard Katie Montgomery said. "They work hard and they're dying to beat us. I've never lost to them, and I don't want the streak to end my senior year."

Senior guard Julie Briody was sidelined with a severe sprained ankle last year, watching both games in horror from the bench.

"The New Mexico State games and the Oklahoma games were the most frustrating games for me the entire time I've been here," Briody said. "It was awful just watching and knowing that I couldn't do anything to help the team."

The Aggies made a startling run through the Western Athletic Conference tournament last year, narrowly falling in the championship game.

Spence said it may have earned the program a lot of respect from outsiders, but it hasn't rubbed off on this year's team yet.

"I'm still waiting for our veterans to remember that feeling and really push to the next level," he said. "We've already gave away three games this season when we had leads and should have won. Those games show we're still trying to get over that hump and be more confident.

". . . It's like last year when we lost a game to New Mexico we should have won in triple overtime. The difference is they know how to win those games, and we're still learning how to win those games."

Senior guard Cecilia Russell-Nava leads the Aggies in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game. Senior forward Sherell Neal adds 14.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per outing.

"Cecilia Russell-Nava and Sherell Neal are really my two strongest players right now who are trying to push a bunch of newcomers and my other returners in the right direction," Spence said. "Cecilia is a tremendous passer, and Sherell is still adjusting to playing at a new position. She is playing more on the perimeter instead of under the basket like she has the past few years, and she's been pretty successful so far."

Spence said he thinks it will be tough to create mismatches against the Lobos, who boast a strong inside-outside scoring punch and can throw waves of talent at him.

He is especially wary of junior forward Dionne Marsh and Briody.

"We all know Marsh is talented, but Briody can be even scarier because she's not just a set shooter," he said. "She's got a motor, and I'm not sure she ever slows down."

Briody said the Lobos are equally wary of the pace New Mexico State sets each game.

"We really worked on boxing out and playing good transition defense because we know they like to run," she said. "We know what happens if we let up against them and want to set the tempo early. We want to take them out of the game right away, because this team definitely can beat us."

As much as Spence claims his team has no chance against UNM, he does admit he harbors a tiny flicker of hope for an upset.

"I just want the ball in our hands with the score tied or very close at the end of the game," he said. "And maybe, just maybe, we can pull off the impossible."

Flanagan on the mend: The Lobos practices have been especially quiet this week, with Flanagan rendered virtually mute by a sore throat and cold, also vocal assistant coach Yvonne Sanchez is on the road recruiting.

"It was kind of hard to understand coach (Flanagan), but coach (Dave) Shoemate and coach Shane (Flanagan) translated a little bit for us," Briody said.

Free throw reprieve: Flanagan threatened to make the Lobos come in for early-morning free-throw shooting after the team struggled from the line, but he let them off the hook when they shot much better against Georgia Southern on Saturday.

Instead of setting sunrise shooting, the players got to practice early this week and shot 50 free throws before the team workout.

"We got lucky," Briody said. "It could have been much worse."