Lobos coach Don Flanagan was disappointed with his team's effort despite the Lobos' 70-57 win over Louisiana Monroe Friday night.
No. 18 New Mexico (7-2) defeated the Lady Indians (4-3) in the first-round of the Lobo Shootout and faces North Dakota State in the championship game Saturday night.
Flanagan, however, saw plenty his team needs to work on before its next outing.
The Lobos' offense lagged in the second half and defense relaxed in the final 12 minutes of the game, allowing Louisiana Monroe to cut a 20 point deficit to 11.
He said he was troubled by the lapses and hopes to see more effort of the team.
"We have some players who relax when we get a lead," he said. "I want to see them fight no matter whether we're up 20 or the game is close."
Junior point guard Katie Montgomery, who is battling a cold and was hoarse after the game, kept the Lobos on track when the Lady Indians threatened to close the gap.
She finished with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
"Sometimes we just we relax too much, but we can't afford to do that, especially in big games," she said.
Sophomore forward Dionne Marsh finished with 15 points, four rebounds, three blocks, three steals and one assist. Senior guard Abbie Letz added 12 points and eight rebounds, while junior guard Julie Briody chipped in with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.
New Mexico was out-rebounded by a smaller but quicker Louisiana Monroe team, which grabbed 35 boards to the Lobos 31.
"They outrebounded us 15 to 11 on the offensive boards and that's unacceptable," Flanagan said.
North Dakota State (3-3), a school in its third year of a five-year switch to the Division I ranks, upset Creighton (2-3) 68-63 in the tournament's early game.
The Bison trailed 39-27 at the half but rallied behind the play of center Danni Heintzelman to outscore the Bluejays 41-24 in the second half.
For more Lobo women's basketball news, check out Saturday's Tribune. Visit this blog after Saturday night's championship game for an update.

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