It was yet another last-second thriller Saturday night at The Pit, as the Lobos edged out the Brigham Young Cougars 60-59.
The score was tied on 10 occasions, and there were 10 lead changes throughout the course of one of the year's most physical games.
Senior Melissa Forest tied the game for the last time at 59 on a baseline drive with less than a minute to play. UNM regained possession after a misfire by the Cougars, and Lobo guard Mandi Moore was fouled and went to the free-throw line with 19 seconds remaining.
Moore connected on the first, missed the second and managed to stop time once more for a jump ball that went to the Cougars with six seconds on the clock.
But BYU sharpshooter Julie Sullivan was not able to put the shot up before time expired.
UNM head coach Don Flanagan credited the defense for holding Sullivan in the final seconds. He said they were prepared for the Cougars to go to Sullivan.
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"I think what hurt them a little bit was the first kid was dribbling for a long time and that kind of panicked everybody," Flanagan said. "We knew (Sullivan) was going to drive it in because she'd been doing it all the time. I thought that was great play by us."
After leading by a fairly comfortable margin throughout the first half, UNM was not expecting the Cougars to turn things around in the second. The first half was dominated by the Lobos, who quickly built a commanding 13-point lead. The Cougars struggled to run their offense because pesky UNM defenders kept intercepting their passes.
Meanwhile, the Lobos started out on fire from the perimeter, scoring on three of their first four 3-point attempts.
But UNM lost its hot shooting touch, and BYU took over the boards to come storming back to within six at the half.
Sullivan kept the momentum in BYU's favor and single-handedly matched the Lobos basket for basket and had 11 of the Cougars' first 13 points of the second half.
Thirteen of Sullivan's 15 points came in the second.
Flanagan said the BYU guard was what hurt the Lobos most.
"We just had no answer for her," he said. "We tried to face-guard her for a while. Every time she made a pass, we would stay with her, but I just didn't have the right personnel on her."
BYU powerhouse Ashleigh Chamberlain controlled the lane, as the Cougars had 32 points in the paint while UNM only got 16 points from the interior.
Despite her nine points and four rebounds, Forest spent much of the second period on the bench after getting her fourth foul early in the second period. The fourth foul was a controversial call by the officials, enraging UNM fans. Forest said the game seemed especially physical and the officiated seemed especially tight, but she regained her composure and waited until the six-minute mark before getting back on the floor.
"Personally, I didn't think that was a foul," Forest said. "But I have to deal with the calls they make, and I had four fouls, so that was my own fault."
Junior Lindsey Arndt had 16 points and eight rebounds, while Moore contributed 11 points, and sophomore guard Abbie Letz added six.
