Women’s basketball heads to New Mexico for weekend showdown
By Kyle Grabowski
New Mexico’s women’s basketball team packs 7,600 fans into The Pit on an average game night, not exactly the most welcoming place for an opposing team. CSU travels to Albuquerque this weekend for a Saturday game at the Lobos. The Rams haven’t won at The Pit since joining the Mountain West Conference in 1999.
“It’s been a while,” head coach Kristen Holt said.
The Lobos (8-13, 2-7 MWC), are tied for last place in the conference and suffering through a down year based on recent success. New Mexico does have some bite this season, however, beating third place TCU in Fort Worth.
“They’re young but I think they play with heart and are just as talented as any other team,” CSU sophomore guard Chantel Kennedy said.
Senior guard Amanda Best leads the Lobo attack, pacing the team in scoring, rebounds, and assists. Best also ranks in the conference’s top-15 in assists and rebounds.
Depth may become a factor in Saturday’s game, as 14 New Mexico Lobos have played this season, compared to the eight available for the Rams.
“They’ve got a lot of players,” Holt said, “which is a severe contrast from us.” Typically the Lobo rotation runs eight players deep, but having access to the additional bodies keeps the regulars more fresh as the conference season winds down.
CSU has won their last two games away from Moby Arena, picking up wins at Air Force and San Diego State. It is the Rams’ longest road winning streak of the season and the team believes it’s building some momentum.
“We’re not always known for having the best road games and it’s kind of nice this year to know that we can,” senior guard Bonnie Barbee said. “Really it’s just our mentality to why we haven’t in the past.”
For practice Wednesday, coach Holt had her team practice against a team of four male volunteers in order to simulate a larger, more athletic team. “On offense it doesn’t make us tentative,” Barbee said.
After Saturday’s matchup, CSU plays four of its next six games at home, where it is 8-3 this year. “A win for us would just be huge,” Holt said, “because it’d be another road win and we have home games left.”
I like this story, I also wrote about the men's basketball team but I think this did a good job of talking about the women's team who sometimes does not get as much attention. I liked the quotes that you selected from the players and coach Holt, I think they did a good job of making the story more personal.
ReplyDelete