Dionne Marsh and Brandi Kimble had dominant performances, and the UNM women's basketball team survived a thriller to win the 2008 Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship.
The No. 4 Lobos beat No. 6 San Diego State 62-59 on Saturday to win their second straight MWC Tournament and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
It will be the eighth consecutive NCAA appearance for UNM.
Earning a berth this year took a bit more work than in previous years, however. The Lobos began 2-4 in conference play and had more youth and inexperience than in preceding seasons.
UNM head coach Don Flanagan said he is proud of how this team grew and didn't let early struggles wreck its season.
"It meant a great deal," he said. "We had some disappointments throughout the year. For them to come back at this point in the year and play so well, and play so confidently, that's a tribute to the effort that they gave in practice and the determination they had when they came to this tournament to be successful."
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While the younger players matured throughout the season, it was Marsh and Kimble who carried UNM to the championship, especially in Saturday's win.
Marsh finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds and was named MWC Tournament MVP for the third time in four years.
Kimble scored 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds, had three steals and a block.
Flanagan said he wouldn't be able to decide which player had a more outstanding tournament.
"Dionne has had great tournaments here -- just tremendous tournaments here," he said. "Three out of four years being MVP, that's unheard of. But Brandi has always guarded the toughest player on the other team. She played their toughest player and did an excellent job on defense there. I couldn't make a choice if I was the one to make the choice."
Saturday's game came down to the final second and was one of the most exciting games in the tournament.
Marsh put UNM up 60-56 with 14 seconds remaining, but the Aztecs' Quenese Davis nailed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left.
Amy Beggin was fouled and made both free throws to push the lead back to three.
Davis got another 3-pointer off before the buzzer, and the shot bounced off the backboard and rattled out of the rim.
San Diego State leading scorer Jene Morris was limited to 19 minutes due to foul trouble and scored 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Allison Duffy led the Aztecs with 15 points and grabbed three rebounds.
Kimble and Marsh get to extend their careers with the automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
Marsh said the Lobos couldn't have more momentum heading into the tournament.
"As a team, we played our best basketball, I think, as of yet," she said. "And hopefully we can continue that into the tournament."
Kimble said she's excited with the opportunity to compete in the NCAA's.
"We're very fortunate, you know, to have the chance to go there," she said. "It means a lot to us, especially me and Dionne being seniors. We're looking forward to it."
