Monday, December 4, 2017

NM State Aggies vs UNM Lobos Women’s Basketball 12-2-17


Okay, this was the big day for Aggie sports.  The main event was going to be football this afternoon, but this was a great appetizer with the always highly contested UNM Lobos versus NM State Aggies rivalry.  I scouted the Lobos earlier in the week when they played the UTEP Miners in El Paso over the radio.  Both teams went into the game undefeated: Miners 4-0, Lobos 7-0.  There were 1,300 fans at the Don Haskins Center and a bunch of them were Lobo fans.  (It was also a double-header night with the Miner Men’s team playing right afterward.)  The Lobos won by 20, 59-39.  Miner coach, Kevin Baker, was amazingly ecstatic after the game in his post-game interview.  “Let’s see anybody else hold the Lobos to under 90 points this season,” he said.  (He also said the Miner girls need to be tougher.  “I’m going to tell our male practice squad to knock the girls around some more.”)

So with that preamble, I arrived at the Pan-Am Center about 45 minutes early for the game.  Tailgaters were already there for the football game all the way to the very end of the parking lot.  I bought tickets to both events at the ticket office.  Someone beside me questioned why the Women’s game tickets cost more than the football tickets.  They did boost the price of the Aggie/Lobo game and were selling cut-rate tickets to the football game.  They also asked me for my name when I bought the tickets.  We’ll see what comes of that.  Even coming early, I doubted I’d get the giveaway shirt.  (As if I need another Aggie shirt at this point.)  Surprisingly, there were plenty of them lying out.  There were two reasons for this, neither good.

Shocked, shocked I was looking at the seats when I came in to the arena.  It was mostly empty.  I just assumed there’d be a good crowd for a rivalry game, especially with so many people on campus for the football game.  I could see the girls practicing on court.  They kept glancing into in the stands in obvious disbelief and disapproval.  Again, I said, “mostly empty.”  While the Aggie booster section, which is usually full, was deserted, the visitor’s section was full.  The Old Man was there in his usual spot, literally surrounded by Lobo fans.  No wonder there were plenty of shirts available (though I did see one Lobo fan with one).

The Lobos came out on court to a rousing (and horrifying to Aggie fans) cheer.  I’m not sure what I was expecting, but they were a very diverse-looking bunch.  A couple were in leg braces.  A couple were big bodies.  There was one girl with a terrible hairstyle with little buns on the sides of her head.  I’d find out who she was soon enough.  In our Assistant Coach watch segment (I admit, they’re often the most interesting-looking group on the sidelines), the Lobos had a beautiful blonde woman that was very elegant-looking with a great smile.  Being on the other end of the court, she wasn’t able to distract me too much from the game.  Of course, the game itself would be very hard to look away from after it started.

The Roadrunner Review band broke out an “extended remix” version of the Aggie fight song.  They also spontaneously went wild when a promo played on the video board for The Last JediTaylor Swift’s Ready for It was one of the songs played by the DJ.  I bought her new album last week and picked that song as a good “sports” tune.  (Yes, I bought the Target version with the souvenir magazine.  It had a couple of great pictures of her cats.  The album itself wasn’t her best effort.  Ready for It and New Year’s Day, the first and last tracks, were the best on it.)            

About half the usual cheerleading squad was present for the game, along with the Sundancers and Pistol Pete.  The regular Aggie PA voice was there.  He had some low energy to start, but got into it quickly.  He needed to make sure not burn himself out early.  All these people would be working the football game later, and I pronounce them the hardest-working individuals of the day. 

I did see Tamera William from last season’s team (and from my encounter at the mall) in the stands.  (Wow, she’s still gorgeous.)  She gave a hug to the official photographer and a few boosters on her way to sitting courtside.  Tamera was smiles, but after the game started, she seemed a bit winsome (and looking at her phone, like everyone else in the world).  If she wished she were out there playing, me too.  She did perk up trying to get a souvenir shirt, of which the cheerleaders made two separate tosses into the crowd.  I think she got a Striking the Wonder Dog shirt (our tee-retrieving football dog).  I tried saying “Hi,” after the game, but didn’t get her attention.  (Hey, I wasn’t expecting a hug or anything.)

                                            

First Quarter
During the Anthem, a fat, old, hippy Lobo fan kept his seat, F-ing with his phone, but he did get up to cheer his team.  That was about the most of the notes I got in for this quarter.  It was incredibly fast-paced.  The Lobos took a quick 8-0 lead to start the game.  They dropped a pair of threes with about the same effort as an uncontested layup.  Wow, me hearing these girls on the radio was no preparation for seeing them in person.  Timeout Aggies.  The girl with the buns, Cherise Beynon, was unreal from behind the arc.  And it wasn’t just her.  A couple of the other Lobo girls were doing it too.  Thankfully, the Aggies got over that initial shock opening.  Brooke Salas came up with two steals and a block.  Gia Pack would start matching Cherise, shot-for-shot.  After 10 minutes, it was 32-29 Lobos.

Second Quarter
Events were still speeding along in the second.  I can barely read (or not read) what little notes I was able to take.  Brooke was still doing it on defense.  The Aggies were doing a good job rebounding, which kept them in the game.  Eventually, Tonishia Childress would knock down a three to give the Aggies their first lead of the game.  It didn’t last as the Lobos got a couple of strips and layups.  A cringe-y moment for the Aggies happened late when Brooke fired a fast break pass down court to Zaire Williams, who wasn’t looking back.  It nearly hit her in the head.  It was a bit awkward between them afterward.  52-48 Lobos at the half.

Halftime
The band started playing the Aggie fight song to end the half and then suddenly stopped part way into it.  They kind of left the cheerleaders hanging there out on the court.  They led the crowd to finish it anyway.  Nice recovery.  There was no halftime entertainment.  Okay.  Athletic Director Mario Moccia came by, working the sidelines.  He didn’t stay.  He was probably visiting the tailgaters in the parking lot and other stuff.  Well, here’s some stats from the video board (there wasn’t any radio call for this game for some reason):  Aggies 56% field goal shooting, Lobos 50%, Aggies 53% 3-point shooting, Lobos 67%.  These are NBA Jam video game numbers. 

Third Quarter
The shooting was stifled a bit as things got more physical.  Unsurprisingly, fouls were also getting called a lot more.  Lobo fans started off the third quarter standing, apparently until the Lobos scored.  (Aggie fans stand at the beginning of the game, until the opposing team scores.)  They ended up waiting about five minutes (maybe two and half minutes game time).  The Aggies scored 6 unanswered points to start.  The Lobos came storming back.  Memorably, N’Dea Flye went one versus three Aggies in the lane for an uncontested layup.    Madi Washington, with no points in the first half, suddenly started killing the Aggies from outside.  (Are parents just handing out Internet-searchable names for their kids now?)  Even the cheerleaders were stunned.  During a break, one of the girls forgot to bring out a sign to hold up while being held up by one of the male cheerleaders.  77-69 Lobos after three.

Fourth Quarter
Early, Jasmine Cooper ran into one of the goal posts trying to recover a rebound.  The crowd held its breath for a moment, but she came up smiling.  The rest of the team was also undaunted.  After being down by 11 to start, the Aggies came back.  Zaire got a fast break assist to Gia for a layup.  Zaire also hit a three to give the Aggies the lead again to cap a great run.  And immediately after that, the Lobos answered with their own three.  The kill shot was probably from Cherise a little later, as she hit yet another three right at the shot clock buzzer to put the Lobos up by 6 with a minute left.  Gia got a steal on a trap and a layup for the last Aggie highlight.  Our unbelievable final score: Lobos 101, Aggies 93.

The band played out the Aggie fight song to end the event.  The fans enthusiastically chanted along with it.  If they didn’t get to see the home team win and had to pay a “rivalry fee” for the ticket, at least everyone got to see a hell of a game.  I certainly didn’t feel cheated.  High scorer for the game was Gia Pack, whom I’m anointing the team leader after this game.  Lobo Cherise Beynon came in second with 30.  While I’ve had specific criticisms for the team after other losses this season, this time I got nothing.  When the opposing team drops 15 three-pointers on the Aggies, shooting over 68%, I’m just happy they could keep up.  The Aggies ran into a very good team today.  OMG, 194 points scored and I only missed one basket on the scorecard.  I’m giving myself a round of applause. 

There was one learned lesson here: Don’t schedule these basketball games, especially rivalry games, on the same day as football.  Even with a bunch of Aggie fans literally sitting in the parking lot next door, most don’t want to go to two events on the same day (or pay for two events).  They did this last week with afternoon football then an evening Men’s Basketball game, and I’m sure it actually decreased attendance for both.  No time for further reflection.  I was off on a short hike to the football stadium.  Aggie Football’s destiny awaited.

                                 

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