Women’s Basketball at Wyoming Preview

The Lobos (9-6, 2-2) return to action on Saturday afternoon, when they head to Laramie, Wyoming to take on the Wyoming Cowgirls (9-6, 2-3). After struggling with their offense since the win at Minnesota, the Lobos were able to get good offensive production from their three leaders in their game against UNLV. While the offensive production was great, the Lobos also got back to being a great defensive team after a couple disappointing games. The Lobos need to build off their win against UNLV and pick up some road wins if they want to get back to the top of the conference standings. The Lobos are not a perfect team, but they will have a chance to win the conference if they bring energy and defense to every single game. Cherise Beynon has been playing fantastic on both sides of the ball and has been the Lobos’ most consistent player. In the end, the Lobos finish in the conference will determined by the play of Khadijah Shumpert. If she can be a first-team all-MW player that is a force in every single game, I like the Lobos chances in pretty much every game.

It did not shock me to see Bryce Owens back in the starting lineup against UNLV. After not starting in the Utah State, but still playing very well in the game, Coach Sanchez rewarded Owens with the start and she responded with a great game against the Rebels, finishing with 15 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. The question that remains in the starting lineup for the Lobos is about who is going to be the third guard in the starting lineup. The Lobos need someone to step up and take over the spot that can hit an open shot, even if it someone that is primarily a great defender.

This matchup against the Cowgirls will be interesting to watch as we’re not really sure what kind of team the Cowgirls are. In conference play, the Cowgirls are just 2-3, with their wins coming against the bottom two teams in the conference (Air Force and Nevada). The Cowgirls have lost to SDSU and SJSU at home already in conference and were blown out on the road against UNLV. Since they haven’t beaten any of the top half of the conference teams, and this being the only meeting between the two teams this year, we probably won’t know how good this team is until half way through the conference season. One thing that we do know is that Laramie is a tough place to play and the elevation can factor into the game. While Albuquerque is a mile high, Laramie is at 7,200 feet.

About the Wyoming Cowgirls:

The Cowgirls are led by longtime Head Coach Joe Legerski, who is in his 13th year as the head of the Cowgirls program. The Cowgirls are coming off a 16-14 season finishing fifth place in the MW at 10-8. Legerski always puts his team in a position to be in games and will always have a team that you can’t take for granted. While the Cowgirls aren’t in the top tiers of the MW, the Lobos will have to play well to win this game.

The Cowgirls had four starters that are averaging over 10 points a game, as well as averaging over 32.7 minutes per game, until the team was hit will a huge injury bug. In particular, senior Jordan Kelley tore her ACL in the eleventh game of the season, which was a major blow to the team. Kelley was the Cowgirls best wing player, averaging 10.5 points, 9.3 rebound, 3.3 assists, she led the Cowgirls in foul shooting at 90.9%. This is a huge loss for the Cowgirls, who have to find players to step in for their senior leader. Marquelle Dent leads the Cowgirls in scoring at 18.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and just over 2 steals per game. The Lobos will need to focus on stopping Dent from having a good shooting night, as she is shooting 38.7% from the floor, and only 23.2% from three. If the Lobos can limit Dent’s impact on the game, the Lobos should be able to come away with the road win.

The other two Cowgirl players to keep an eye on are Marta Gomez and Liv Roberts. Gomez is averaging 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and just under an assist a game. She has also been the Cowgirls most productive three-point shooter, hitting 37.8%. Roberts is averaging 10.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and just under 2 assists per game. So far this season the most impressive team stat for the Cowgirls, has been their foul shooting, where they are shooting a great 75.4% as a team.

Team Stat Comparison:

  • Points Per Game: Lobos 64.9; Cowgirls 67.1
  • Points Allowed Per Game: Lobos 60.1; Cowgirls 63
  • Field Goal Percentage: Lobos 38.8%; Cowgirls 40.3%
  • Three Point Percentage: Lobos 29%; Cowgirls 30.2%
  • Free Throw Percentage: Lobos 63.9%; Cowgirls 75.4%
  • Defensive Field Goal Percentage: Lobos 36.3%; Cowgirls 40.1%
  • Defensive Three Point Percentage: Lobos 30%; Cowgirls 29.5%
  • Rebounds Per Game: Lobos 40.3; Cowgirls 37.5
  • Assists Per Game: Lobos 14.3; Cowgirls 12.3
  • Turnovers Per Game: Lobos 15.9; Cowgirls 13.3
  • Turnovers Forced Per Game: Lobos 17.8; Cowgirls 13.7

The key to how this game will turn out will be if it ends up being an offensive game or a defensive game. The Cowgirls have the better offense and take better care of the ball while the Lobos have the better defense and have forced opponents into almost 18 turnovers per game. If the game is played in the 50’s I really like the Lobos’ chances to win this road game.

Matchup to Watch:

The matchup that I will be watching in this game is the post matchup between senior Khadijah Shumpert and freshman Marta Gomez. Gomez has been great as a freshman for the Cowgirls, so the Lobos will need Shumpert to have a great game and stay out of foul trouble to dominate this matchup. I believe that if Shumpert stays off the bench, we may get to see a 20 points, 13 rebounds performance. To win conference road games you need your best players to have great games and for the Lobos, that task falls on Shumpert.

Picks:

After a great Wednesday night of MW action, seeing me go 5-0 with my picks, I am now at 15-9 on the young season. Here are my picks for Saturday’s games:

UNM at. Wyoming

BSU vs. SDSU

SJSU at FSU

UNLV at AFA

CSU at USU

Conference Standings:

  1. CSU 4-0
  2. FSU 4-0
  3. SJSU 4-1
  4. USU 3-2
  5. BSU 2-2
  6. UNM 2-2
  7. WYO 2-3
  8. UNLV 1-3
  9. SDSU 1-3
  10. Nevada 1-4
  11. AFA 0-4

Prediction:

This game can go a lot of ways, but I like the Lobos, as since the loss of Kelley for the Cowgirls, they haven’t regrouped enough to beat a good conference team. Kelley was a very important player for them and I think that her loss will be noticed today, with Cherise Beynon being able to have her way against the Cowgirls. I see this game being played in the high 50’s-low 60’s, so with that being the case, I like the Lobos’ chances to win this game. I will set the odds of the Lobos winning this game at 65% and will predict the final score being a 61-55 road win for the Lobos. I hope that Saturday’s 2 PM tip time is great to Lobo basketball in general, as the men take on Wyoming Cowboys at the same time.

Game Info:

Who: New Mexico (9-6, 2-2) vs. Wyoming (9-6, 2-3)

Where: Arena Auditorium, Laramie, Wyoming

When: Saturday January 16, 2 PM MT

Radio: 610 AM

Stream: Campus Insiders