The Lobos (8-4, 1-0) return to action at home Saturday afternoon to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs (5-7, 1-0). Both teams are coming off conference-opening wins and are looking to improve to 2-0 in conference play. The Lobos look to play a better game than they played against Nevada and need Jaisa Nunn to make a return to action ASAP. If the Lobos get a great game from senior forward Khadijah Shumpert, I really like the Lobos chances to win this game.
Author: Zach
Women’s Basketball at Nevada Recap
The conference opener was an interesting game for the Lobos (8-4, 1-0), as they had a tough time creating separation from the Nevada Wolf Pack (1-11, 0-1). If you read our preview, we highlighted how it should have been an easy road win for the Lobos and it was anything but that. The Lobos didn’t have the service of Jaisa Nunn and Alexa Chavez got hurt in the first half, which limited their interior depth. Without Nunn, the Lobos needed Khadijah Shumpert to stay out of foul trouble and the Lobos didn’t get that, as Shumpert fouled out in 20 minutes of action. With everything that happened in the game, I was proud of how the Lobos fought and never game up the lead in the game. I think this will be a lesson for this young Lobo team that you can’t take any team for granted, even more so on the road. Without Nunn playing and Chavez getting hurt, Kianna Keller was the only bench player to play over 10 minutes. The Lobos bench production needs to be better for the Lobos to be the team that they want to be.
Men’s Basketball vs. Nevada Recap
Conference play started Wednesday night for the Lobo Men’s Basketball team and they needed to get the bad taste out of their mouth from last week, when they went 0-4 with two very bad losses against Rice and Washington State. The game day didn’t get off to a good start, as freshman backup center Nikola Scekic announced that he was transferring an hour and a half before the game. With the departure of Scekic, the Lobos have only 3 true post players left on the roster with Obij Aget, Tim Williams and Joe Furstinger, which will force Coach Neal to use more four guard lineups than he has ever played. That might not be a bad thing, though, as parts of this game proved.
Women’s Basketball Conference Season Preview
It looks like for the third straight year that the Mountain West Conference will be a one bid league in Women’s Basketball, which means that every team will be more focused on the conference tournament championship compared the regular season championship, which doesn’t come with the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Last year, the Lobos finished second in the regular season and lost to Boise State in the championship game of the tournament last season. Since Colorado State won the regular season title, they were awarded the MW bid into the WNIT while the Lobos played in the Women’s Basketball Invitational. It will be interesting to see how the conference season shakes out and see if the Lobos can knock of Colorado State to win both conference titles.
Women’s Basketball at Nevada Preview
The Lobos (7-4) return to action tonight, kicking off Mountain West Conference play by facing Nevada (1-10) in Reno. The Lobos look to regroup after a tough third quarter against NMSU that cost them the game against the Aggies. The Lobos finished out their non-conference slate with a solid 7-4 record with no bad losses and a great road win against Minnesota. The Lobos will look to build off last year’s 2nd place finish in both the conference regular season and tournament, with the ultimate goal to make the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos look to get off to a great start against a struggling Nevada Wolf Pack team. If the Lobos want to win the regular season title, the Lobos need to sweep the weaker teams in the conference and the Wolf Pack fit that bill.
Women’s Basketball vs. NMSU (Game 2) Recap
The third quarter was not kind to the Lobos (7-4), in their Sunday afternoon game against NMSU. The Lobos managed to only score 3 points in the quarter with no field goals and saw their seven-point halftime lead turn into an eight-point deficit by the end of the quarter. The Lobos played great in the first quarter, where they jumped out to a 17-6 lead, and it appeared the Lobos were building off the Minnesota game. However, the Lobos went ice cold for the rest of the game, scoring only 30 points over the final three quarters, and went on to lose the game 52-47. After all the starters played great in the Minnesota game, they struggled to get going, as the starting back court combined for 12 points (on 4-24 shooting), 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 16 turnovers. Hopefully, this game was just a blip on the radar and the Lobo backcourt will be able to lead the Lobos to a conference championship. One thing that I am sure Coach Sanchez pointed out to her team is that Khadijah Shumpert only had 4 shot attempts, which is far too few for her to really get going. If the Lobos want to be the team they have the potential to be, Shumpert, Beynon, Owens and Nunn have to be very productive. In this game Nunn and Shumpert both played well, but only had 9 field goal attempts between the two of them.
Men’s Basketball vs. Auburn Recap and BYU Preview
The Lobos’ first round game of the Diamond Head Classic against Auburn was a game of runs. This was due in large part to the sheer number of turnovers in the game, 39 total, and the three point shooting by both teams, 20 made threes. Combined, this meant that there would be multiple runs of 6 or more point swings. There were many times it looked like one of the teams would run away with the game, only to have the other team make a similar run and take the lead back. In the end for the Lobos, there were too many turnovers and too much Canty, ultimately falling to Auburn 82-78. This sends the Lobos to the loser’s bracket to face BYU tomorrow at 12:30 MT.
Women’s Basketball at Minnesota Recap
Khadijah Shumpert wanted to make the most of her homecoming game, and boy did she ever. When the Lobos went on the road to play the University of Minnesota, many didn’t expect the Lobos to go on the road and beat a very solid team, much less by 19 points. The Lobos had control for most of the game and every time they took a punch from the Gophers, the Lobos had the answer. They did this by sticking to their game plan, running great offense, and forcing the Gophers into tougher shots then they wanted to. With the 72-53 road win, the Lobos improved to 7-3 and they now have the chance to finish the non-conference schedule 8-3 if they can beat NMSU on Sunday.
Women’s Basketball at Minnesota Preview
The Lobos (6-3), winners of two straight, will hit the road to The University of Minnesota (6-2), who will probably be the best team the Lobos will face this season. It will be important for the Lobos to take care of the basketball and make the most of every single offensive possession to give them a good shot to win this game. It can’t be stressed enough how important it is for Khadijah Shumpert and Cherise Beynon to have great games and to stay out of foul trouble, as they have been the heart and soul of this Lobo team. I think the Lobos have a chance in this game, but it will have to be their best performance of the season. Read more
Women’s Basketball vs. Pepperdine Recap
The Lobos’ game Saturday against Pepperdine was all about defense, as they used their defense and energy to improve to 6-3 on the season by winning 60-52. The Lobos controlled the first half, holding Pepperdine to 15 first half points and limiting Pepperdine to just 16.67% (4-24) shooting. The Lobos shot over 40% in each half to control the game from the opening tip. If there’s one thing that the Lobos didn’t do well in the game, it was shooting 17-34 from the free throw line. Pepperdine also struggled from the line shooting 19-36, so both teams have to feel like they left something on the table there.