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UNM Women's Basketball: E-Nunu's defensive role aids Lobos

By Iliana Limón
Friday, November 24, 2006

Timi E-Nunu's name always has set her apart.

Her Nigerian grandmother gave her the name Timiyi, which means "God is my helper" in the E-Nunu family's native language.

"I love my name, but I had a hard time writing it when I was little so my mom suggested I shorten it to Timi," E-Nunu said. "When I had a substitute teacher in school, they'd always just stop when calling out attendance, and I knew that was me. Even though it could be embarrassing sometimes, I'm really glad I have a special name."

E-Nunu, a senior on the University of New Mexico women's basketball team, has established herself as more than a distinct name on the roster.

She is a defensive specialist who has given the Lobos a huge lift whenever their starting post players get into foul trouble.

E-Nunu, a 6-foot forward, is averaging a career-high 17.3 minutes.

She averages one point per game, but E-Nunu adds 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, one steal and the kinds of hustle plays coaches admire. She is integral to UNM's full-court press. She forces turnovers. She dives for loose balls and is the Lobo most apt to force a change of possession with a tie-ball.

"She's a great leader on the floor, in terms of energy, and has been able to help us out a lot," UNM coach Don Flanagan said. "She's having the best season of her career."

The Lobos (2-2) will lean on E-Nunu tonight when they take on Georgia Southern (1-4) in the opening round of the UNM Thanksgiving tournament. The game starts at about 8 p.m. The other first-round game pits Siena against Western Illinois at 6 p.m.

The Eagles, despite their record, could pose a formidable threat to UNM advancing to the championship this year.

Georgia Southern nearly upset No. 8 Georgia earlier this week, falling 75-71 at home.

Eagles senior guard Tiffany Brown had a game-high 18 points. The game featured 11 lead changes and Georgia Southern held a 38-35 halftime lead.

The Eagles lit up Georgia from long range, hitting 13-of-30 3-pointers for 43 percent from the field. It's a step up for the Eagles, who are averaging 34 percent from 3-point range in five games this season.

"They're very impressive," Flanagan said. "Any team that can hit 13 3-pointers against Georgia is pretty tough. They're also very athletic and play great defense."

E-Nunu has been at her best whenever the Lobos have run into quick teams like Georgia Southern.

Her seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals in 26 minutes against then-No. 13 Arizona State all were career highs.

"I've been working hard and feel like I've been improving each and every game," E-Nunu said. "I feel confident in my conditioning and my skills. That's about all you can really ask for."

E-Nunu traces some of her early struggles as a Lobo to breathing trouble.

She would be a live wire on the court for a few minutes, then her energy level would drop as she struggled to suck in oxygen and harness her adrenaline.

E-Nunu grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and never had breathing problems before, she said, but she developed asthma as soon as she moved to New Mexico.

She focused on overcoming the problem this summer, taking advantage of new cardiovascular equipment that proved to her it was safe to push past what she thought was her body's limit.

E-Nunu said it helped that the team ran more on the basketball court than outside during the summer. She also added vitamins to her diet, which helped her breathing and bolstered her immune system.

Flanagan said he wants E-Nunu to push herself again and focus on becoming more of a scoring threat.

"She certainly has the athletic ability to get open and score," Flanagan said. "I just think she has too much energy when she's finally open and it throws off her shot."

E-Nunu said she is honing her offensive game, taking advantage of scrimmages when she often guarded by junior forward Dionne Marsh, who makes her work for her shot.

"I've definitely started to look for my shot more," she said. "Usually, my first thought was to pass or screen, but now I want to take it to the basket. I feel like I'm improving a lot and it will show up in a game soon."