It took the entire 40 minutes for the UNM women's basketball team to pull out its 65-61 win over Oregon State on Friday in the Santa Ana Star Center.
The win puts the Lobos in the quarterfinals of the Women's National Invitational Tournament, where they will face Kansas on Monday.
With seven seconds left in the game, the Beavers hit a 3, bringing OSU to within three of the Lobos, 59-56.
A quick foul put Amy Beggin on the stripe with two shots, reminiscent of the game against Utah two weeks ago when she had the chance to put her team up by three with 11 seconds left but rimmed both free throws. The Lobos lost that game by one and were eliminated from the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
Beggin wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
She sank both free throws, increasing the Lobos' margin to five with four seconds remaining on the clock, to solidify the win.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"It felt unbelievable," Beggin said of her redemptive shots. "It felt like God gave me a second chance today, and I was so happy I could knock them down. My teammates, every one of them, looked at me and said, 'You are going to make it.'"
It was only with four seconds left that the crowd of 4,759 could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the Lobos' season would continue.
The game was close the entire way. It was tied seven times, with three lead changes. The largest margin was six for either team.
At halftime, the score was tied 29-29 with 16 of UNM's first-half points coming from freshman Sara Halasz, who bested her career-high by the break. Halasz, who averaged a little more than five points a game throughout the season, came out blazing in the first half, hitting six of her 11 shots from the field, including one from behind the arc.
"Coach said be aggressive," Halasz said. "So that is what I wanted to bring to the team. Everything just started falling."
Things cooled off for Halasz in the final 20 minutes: She went 1-of-5 from the field in the second half.
The Lobos saw the Beavers pull ahead to a 35-31 lead to start the second half, which was OSU's largest lead of the night. Lousy shooting by the Lobos spotted the Beavers their lead, as UNM was just 2-for-10 from the field in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
But Oregon State never pulled away, leaving room for a comeback. The Lobos went on a 10-4 run midway through the second half to take the lead, and they never let it go again.
Despite leading the rest of the way, UNM always had Oregon State nipping at its heels. With two minutes left, UNM took its biggest lead of the night, 54-48. Just when it looked like they were going to pull away, OSU's Brittney Davis pumped a 3 to narrow the margin to three.
After hustling back and forth, the Lobos fouled Tiffany Ducker, who finished the game with eight points and seven rebounds. Ducker brought the game within two after sinking both free throws, 55-53.
A Beggin assist to an open Angela Hartill began a 7-3 run with 40 seconds left in spite of the Beavers' dam-like defense.
"I thought we withstood their physical-ness and did a nice job closing the game out," head coach Don Flanagan said.
With only three days' rest before facing the Jayhawks, Flanagan said he is a bit concerned with the team's level of energy, especially Beggin's.
"I am a little concerned about her fatigue level after getting knocked around out there," he said. "If we are playing Monday, that is not a lot of rest."
Women's basketball vs. Kansas
Today, 7 p.m.
Santa Ana Star Center
