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Women's basketball: Kimble powers Lobos to victory

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Tonight: New Mexico (1-0) vs. Dayton (0-1)

Game time: 8 p.m., The Pit

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Game report: Page B3

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Brandi Kimble's board work against Western Michigan prods one to coin a new term for her: The best inch-for-inch rebounder in school history.

The 5-foot-8 Kimble snatched a career-high 20 rebounds and matched that glass-cleaning prowess with a game-high 22 points in UNM's 85-62 season-opening victory over Western Michigan on Friday night in The Pit.

The Lobos face Dayton at 8 tonight in the second game of the Women's Sports Foundation Tournament. On Sunday, UNM concludes the event with a game against Northwestern at 2 p.m.

"That just goes to show you rebounding is all desire," UNM head coach Don Flanagan said.

Kimble, a senior guard, is a freak of nature when it comes to rebounding. She's like ex-Lobo Brian Urlacher chasing down a running back on the football field - she doesn't give up pursuit until the job is done.

The nimble Kimble did her job plenty, including a monster-size 12 offensive rebounds.

"I just go after the ball," Kimble said simply, as if solving global warming or a Rubik's Cube was as easy.

If rebounding was so uncomplicated, wouldn't everybody do it?

"She ripped one (rebound) out of my hands," said UNM teammate Amanda Adamson. "She was relentless out there. It was unreal, really."

Kimble's performance overshadowed outings by several teammates, among them Dionne Marsh and Amy Beggin.

Marsh, a senior forward, had 20 points and six rebounds. Beggin, a sophomore point guard, finished with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, and six assists with no turnovers.

Adamson, a junior transfer from Syracuse who sat out last season at UNM, scored nine points off the bench in her first game as a Lobo.

She played both guard and forward positions, showing off her versatility.

"It was a lot of fun," Adamson said. "I can play both inside and outside, whatever I need to do to help the team win."

Adamson's offense was a welcome sign for the Lobos, who need to establish another threat to go with the steady trio of Kimble-Marsh-Beggin.

"Amanda's going to help us out a lot this season," Kimble said. "She's strong and she's a good finisher around the basket. She can step out and hit the outside shot, too."

But when it comes to rebounding, Kimble undoubtedly owned this game. Her 20 rebounds were five more than the rest of the Lobos' starters combined.

She nearly outrebounded Western Michigan, with the Broncos hauling in 29 rebounds.

She also made eight of her 18 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers to go with her potent mid-range stop-and-pop jumpers.

"That may be Brandi's best game ever," Flanagan said.