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UNM Women's Basketball: Lobos comfortable on Wildcats' home court

By Iliana Limón
Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Several Lobos are excited about the chance to play at Arizona tonight.

Their coach isn't nearly as happy about it.

Senior Julie Briody said the University of New Mexico women's basketball team feels especially comfortable at the McKale Center, where UNM played the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament last year and ended its postseason road futility.

"We're lucky there," Briody said. "We all love that gym."

UNM coach Don Flanagan, however, is wary of how the No. 23 Lobos (5-2) stack up against Arizona (5-3).

The Wildcats have a talented roster, and their three losses have come on the road against Top 25 teams.

Arizona gets the bulk of its scoring from two guards, but the team boasts a lot of height. Arizona's starting center is 6-foot-6, while its forwards are around 6-2.

Flanagan is starting sophomore center Angela Hartill, who is 6-3, instead of 6-foot senior Timi E-Nunu.

"Right now I'm much more concerned with matching their height than I am about getting speed out there on the floor," he said.

The Lobos spent last week preparing for a zone defense they expected to face against New Mexico State and Arizona.

The Aggies played UNM man-to-man all night, but Flanagan said the extra practice against the zone should come in handy tonight.

Briody said the Lobos aren't overlooking Arizona.

"We're going to have to play good team defense because they are very talented and keep working hard to block people out and rebound," she said. "We've won a few games in a row by working hard and playing well together, and we just need to keep it up."

Arizona coach Joan Bonvicini likes her team's chances against the Lobos.

Her team is 3-0 at home this season and averaging 75 points per game in the McKale Center thanks to heavy scoring by senior guard Joy Hollingsworth and junior guard Joy Whisonant.

Hollingsworth leads the Wildcats with 16.3 points per game, and Whisonant adds 12.4 points per outing.

"I feel like we still have a lot of room to improve, but our team is very competitive and getting much better every day," Bonvicini said.

She said her post players play strong defense but are still working on becoming consistent offensive threats.

Sophomore 6-1 forward Amina Njonkou is averaging 9.4 points per game, and 6-6 junior center Suzy Bofia adds 5.6 points per game.

Freshman forward Rheya Neabors, a 6-1 starter who has been averaging 5.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 24 minutes this season, may not play against the Lobos due to an injury.

"Our posts are a little hit or miss, but they showed me a spark last game," Bonvicini said. "I think they will rise to the challenge of facing New Mexico."

UNM ranked: The Lobos slipped back into the Top 25 this week, grabbing the No. 23 spot in the Associated Press poll.

UNM was ranked to start the season but fell out of the polls after road losses to Arizona State and Nebraska.