After a dominating performance Tuesday in their 83-43 win against Nicholls State, the Lobos return to action for their Thanksgiving Tournament. First up for the Lobos is Southern Utah, who they will play this afternoon. Today’s other game in the four team tournament is Duquesne vs. North Carolina A&T. New Mexico and Duquesne are both heavy favorites in their opening game and should square off on Saturday for the Championship Game. But, first things first; both teams need to win today.
Southern Utah:
Southern Utah is coached by second-year head coach Chris Boettcher. The Thunderbirds, who are in the Big Sky Conference, are coming off a 13-15 season. It has been a tough start of the season for them, as they have yet to find a win after four regular season games and also lost both of their exhibition games. So far this season, the Thunderbirds have been led by junior Jessica Richardson, who is averaging 14.3 points per game and grabbing 10.5 rebounds per game. The Thunderbirds have struggled shooting the ball this season, shooting only 30.8% from the field, 28.4% from three, and 60.9% from the free throw line. The Thunderbirds need to shoot extremely well Friday, especially for them, to have a shot of winning this game against the Lobos.
Team Stat Updates:
Through the first four games of the season, the Lobos have shot the ball well from the floor (44%) and from three (35.7%). One area that they have been working on is to get better from the free throw line. They are shooting only 55.4% from the charity stripe, which simply won’t cut it. I expect that we will see this number get better as the season goes on, as we are still at the part of the season where small sample size is in play, and a 18-20 performance in one game can change the team percentage in a big way. So far this season, the Lobos are averaging 72.8 points per game, and allowing 62.2 points per game. The area that the Lobos have dominated their opponents early this season is in rebounding. The Lobos are averaging 46 rebounds per game while allowing their opponents to average33.8 rebounds per game.
Balance is Key:
A word to describe the Lobos team so far this season is balanced; the Lobos have seven players averaging between 11 and 6.3 points per game. They have nine players averaging over 2.8 rebound per game. The balanced attack is great, but that doesn’t mean the Lobos don’t have a few players that can score 20 points in a game. Khadijah Shumpert has had a great start to her senior year, averaging 10 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game. Bryce Owens didn’t want to be outdone by her fellow senior and is leading the Lobos in scoring at 11 points per game and is also averaging 4 rebounds per game from her point guard position. The freshman class of Jaisa Nunn (9.5 ppg, 6 rpg), Jannon Otto (7.5 ppg, 3 rpg) and Emily Lines (7 ppg, 2.8 rpg) has been fun to watch their growth in a game-by-game basis. It is cementing my position that this freshman class has a chance to be the best recruiting class New Mexico has had in a while.
Player to Watch:
Today the player I will be watching is Kianna Keller, who has been starting the last few games. She will be important in this game because of how she can disrupt shots from the opposition. If she can be a defensive force in the game and slow down Richardson, the Lobos should have no problem winning this game. Keller is someone where the box score won’t tell the whole story, but I do expect a good game from her.
Tournament Play:
With a game both Friday and Saturday, it is important for the Lobos to make this game out of reach as early as possible to rest their best players for the game Saturday, most likely against Duquesne. The Lobos have a lot of depth and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are no Lobos that play over 20 minutes in this game today. If the Lobos are able to do this, I believe their chances of winning the Thanksgiving Tournament go up.
Prediction:
Southern Utah has struggled so far this season and the Lobo Women’s Basketball Team still has not lost in the PIT since the name change to WisePies Arena. I don’t see that changing today. The Lobos are a way better team and shouldn’t have any problems beating the Thunderbirds in Friday’s game. I put the odds of the Lobos winning this game at 97% and I see them doing it relatively easy, with a final score of 78-59.
Game Info:
Who: New Mexico (3-1) VS Southern Utah (0-4)
Where: WisePies Arena AKA The PIT; Albuquerque, New Mexico
When: Friday November 27th 5 PM MT
Radio: 610 AM
TV: MountainWest Network