by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
Put Dionne Marsh in a pressure situation and the sophomore forward will come through every time. Marsh proved that Saturday night as she helped UNM in a come-back 56-52 victory over Oklahoma State.
The win gave the 25th-ranked Lobos the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament championship after they defeated Marist College 61-54 Friday night. UNM improved to 5-1 on the season.
Marsh was named the tournament MVP after scoring a team-high 31 points over the weekend.
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Her most clutch play came in the closing minutes against Oklahoma State.
With just 4:27 left in the game and UNM trailing 48-42, Marsh hit a shot in the post to cut the lead to four. She then ran down the floor and stole a pass from the Cowgirls.
Katie Montgomery hit a three-pointer off the steal to bring the Lobos within one with 4:08 remaining.
The 9,172 fans in The Pit were on their feet as the teams traded baskets the next couple of minutes.
With 37 seconds left on the clock and the score knotted up at 52, Marsh made a huge leaping rebound among three Oklahoma State players and was fouled. She calmly nailed the free throws, giving the Lobos a 54-52 lead.
Head coach Don Flanagan said Marsh always plays at a higher level when there is a lot on the line. He said the key rebound was an example of her playing well under pressure.
"It almost takes a situation to get her to play her best," he said. "I've never seen her jump like that. She waits until there's a situation where you have to have it."
When the Cowgirls missed a three-point shot on the other end of the floor, Marsh was fouled with seven seconds left and hit two more pressure free-throws, securing the 56-52 victory.
"I just knew I had to make them," Marsh said. "You just try and concentrate and not think of it like the game's on the line. I just think of it like practice."
Marsh finished the game with a team-high 14 points and grabbed four rebounds. The sophomore scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half.
The Lobos got contributions across the board, as Abbie Letz was forced to sit out with an eye injury.
Flanagan said prior to the game he did not know how his guards would match up with the strength of Oklahoma State, but was pleased with the turnout.
Flanagan said he was worried without Letz because she is one of the more physical guards.
"Lindsay Black got in there and battled, I even got Rachel (Majewski) in there, and she hit a three," he said.
While Flanagan said he was preparing to play a tough inside game against the Cowgirls, Oklahoma State turned out to be surprisingly good from beyond the arc - especially in the first half.
Oklahoma State finished the game shooting just 34 percent from the field, but 38 percent from three-point land.
UNM got off to a fast start, jumping out to an 8-0 lead with 16:42 in the first half. The Cowgirls battled back, however, and took their first lead of the game 17-15 at 6:12 after Shaunte Smith made two free-throws.
Smith nailed a three with 2:04 in the first half to give Oklahoma State a 27-21 lead. The first half ended with five consecutive threes, and Jana Francis tied the game at 30-30 with five seconds in the half.
Though it was an ugly win, Flanagan said Oklahoma State is a tough team and that he was proud of the character his team showed late.
"When fatigue starts setting in late in the game, it's going to be the team that wants it the most. Tonight I thought they did pretty well," he said.
