Maybe it was junior Katrina Leckovic's par at the 54th and final hole of the Mountain West Conference women's golf championship Saturday.
Maybe it was the 4-under-par 280 posted by the UNM squad Friday in a second round marked by wind, sleet and snow - a round head coach Jackie Booth called "one of the best I've ever watched in those kinds of conditions."
Or maybe it was just heart that brought the 12th-ranked Lobos - 11 shots back of UNLV after Thursday's opening round - their fourth straight conference championship. It was their 13th league title overall and first-ever individual champion in Leckovic at the icy, par-71 Meadows Course in Sunriver, Ore., April 24-26.
"This team fights adversity," Booth said. "They're not quitters."
UNM struggled to an 18-over-par 316 in the opening round, played at an alternate site due to frost. But Friday's return to the Meadows opened the door for a monumental comeback.
Three of five Lobos bested par on the day, including Leckovic, who set a new tournament record with a 4-under 67.
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The Lobos' 280, also a tournament record, left them deadlocked with UNLV at 596 and 18 pressure-packed holes to play. The championship's outcome would remain in doubt until the very last putt.
After driving into the fairway at the par-4 18th, Leckovic, who was playing with UNLV's freshman sensation Sunny Oh, received news from Booth that the teams were still tied.
"I guess I was a little nervous," said Leckovic, who at the time also held a narrow, one-shot lead over Oh for the individual crown. "I was basically like, OK, I've got to hit it close and make birdie."
She fired her approach to within eight feet, then watched Oh play her shot to 30 feet. Oh's putt stopped about two and a half feet from the cup, setting the stage for Leckovic.
It wasn't to be - the eight-footer burned the hole's edge, leaving Leckovic and her teammates nothing to do but look on. But Oh missed, giving Leckovic and UNM the titles.
"I never even considered that she [Oh] was going to miss that putt," Booth said. "I don't think I have any stomach lining left."
Sophomore Kailin Downs, who posted rounds of 79-70-73-222 and played the last four holes Saturday 1-under for a third-place finish, said being so far back after Thursday gave the Lobos a wakeup call.
"We knew we were the team to beat, so we just committed ourselves to each other and went out there and got it done," she said.
After a disastrous first round 82, sophomore Christina Spence battled back Friday with a 69. She capped off a great weekend with Saturday's low round, a 1-over 72, to finish in a tie for fourth.
"I just tried to stay patient," Spence said.
She added that slowing her swing down allowed her to turn things around.
"I knew there was a lot riding on it," Spence said.
Sophomore Shannon Johnson was next best for the Lobos, finishing tied for 14th at 232. Junior Kellyn Newman finished 23rd at 240.
Proud of her team's effort, Booth put the week in perspective.
"Before this, I didn't understand the saying 'It's easier to get to the top than it is to stay there,'" Booth said. "This feels great."
The Lobos will learn their next destination this afternoon, one of three sites for NCAA regional competition where they will aim for a berth in the national championship.
