The UNM women's basketball team's season ended in heartbreak, but it was a memorable season to leave a promising future.
The Lobos fell 61-60 to West Virginia on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, ending a thrilling, if unexpected, postseason run.
UNM has reached the NCAA Tournament in seven consecutive years, and this season had to be the biggest surprise.
The Lobos, full of youth and inexperience, started 2-4 in Mountain West Conference play and entered the MWC Tournament as a No. 4 seed.
Unlike in previous years, when UNM had strong enough seasons to fall back on at-large bids, the only path to the NCAAs was for the Lobos to win the conference tournament.
They got off to a great start in the first round, cruising by BYU 59-41. When No. 9 Colorado State shocked the MWC by knocking off No. 1 seed Utah, the Lobos took full advantage, handling the Rams 65-41.
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UNM didn't have it so easy in the tournament championship, holding off a scrappy San Diego State team, 62-59.
So, for the second straight season, head coach Don Flanagan and the Lobos celebrated in the center of the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, cutting down the nets as they earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
With all the youth on the team, UNM was carried by lone seniors Dionne Marsh and Brandi Kimble, who were brilliant when it mattered most.
Kimble averaged 15.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in the conference tournament. Marsh scored 16.3 points per game and grabbed seven boards per contest, earning the MWC Tournament MVP. It was Marsh's third tournament MVP in four years.
The two seniors were especially clutch in the championship game, combining for 43 points and 19 rebounds while playing 39 minutes each.
Even in Saturday's season-ending loss to West Virginia, the duo carried UNM for stretches and kept the Lobos in the game. Kimble finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and three assists while Marsh added 12 points and seven rebounds.
In the final game of the regular season, Marsh became UNM's all-time leading scorer.
And while the Lobos will unquestionably miss Marsh and Kimble's production next season, the team gained invaluable experience with its postseason run.
Junior post Angela Hartill will be UNM's most experienced player and grew a lot while playing alongside Marsh.
In her first full season as a starter, sophomore Amy Beggin played like a poised veteran and will be an even more seasoned floor leader next season.
And even though Hartill and Beggin are the main players returning with a lot of playing time under their belts, a number of Lobos made big strides, especially in the postseason.
Amanda Adamson, Georonika Jackson, Eileen Weissmann and Jessica Kielpinski were some of the players who got valuable minutes and made big plays for the Lobos down the stretch.
Hartill and Adamson will be the only seniors on next year's team, but it should be a team full of confidence after it finished the season 6-1.
As for Kimble and Marsh, the two will move on to the next phases of their lives but leave behind memorable careers as members of the UNM women's basketball team.
