The basketball season tips off for the Lobo Women’s Basketball Program tonight in the second game of a Lobo doubleheader. After dominating two instate DII schools in exhibition games, the Lobos open the season against Southland Conference’s Houston Baptist. The Lobos are coming off a season where they went 21-13 and Houston Baptist finished their season 15-18. This should be a good first test for the Lobos as they get their legs under them this season. The Lobos non-conference schedule isn’t as tough as last year’s, but that doesn’t mean they’re playing terrible teams.
Houston Baptist:
Since both teams have yet to play a regular season game, it is hard to get a read on who is going to play a key role on the Houston Baptist team. The two leading returnees for them are Rachel Arthur, who averaged 11 ppg, and Anna Strickland, who averaged 7.2 ppg and 8.6 rpg. Houston Baptist has a lot of new faces on their team, so it will be interesting to see what kind of talent they brought in after their 15-18 season last year.
Starting Five:
The starting five for the Lobos may look a little different in a month, but there are four clear starters for the team right now in Shumpert, Owens, Beynon and Otto. I expect that Whitney Johnson will start at the post tonight, but I bet we see a lot of Jaisa Nunn in this game. The rotation will be interesting to see how deep into the bench Coach Sanchez will go and how many minutes each player will play.
Player to Watch:
I am most excited to see Otto make her first regular season start as a Lobo. I will be watching to see how she does with the bright lights of games that actually count on the schedule. I bet that Otto will do a few things tonight that will make you smile and make you thankful that she is a Lobo.
Prediction:
Houston Baptist is a step up in competition from the teams the Lobos played in the exhibition season. That being said, I don’t know how much of a challenge they will give the Lobos tonight. I put the odds of the Lobos winning this game at 95% and I have them winning the game with a comfortable 78-55 final score.
Game Info:
Who: New Mexico 0-0 vs. Houston Baptist 0-0
Where: Wisepies Arena AKA the PIT, Albuquerque, New Mexico
When: Friday, November 13th at 8pm MT (or 30 minutes after the men’s game)
Radio: 610 AM KNML
TV: Root Sports