LAS VEGAS — The Viking-clad Lobo fan at the southeast end of the Thomas & Mack Center held up a sign reading, “No. 32 — Best bet in Vegas,” obviously referencing Lobo guard Amanda Best.
Had he been smart, though, he’d have put his money on point guard Amy Beggin on Tuesday during the first round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
Had No. 8 Colorado State been smart, it would have put somebody in close proximity to Beggin and had them shadow her, especially toward the end of the game, when Beggin threw the kibosh in any thought of an upset, delivering the UNM women’s basketball team to the quarterfinals to face Utah today.
Decidedly, it was Beggin, as it often is, insuring the low-seeded Lobos of a 67-54 victory over CSU. And with that, Beggin made certain the Lobos wouldn’t lose their first-round game, something that hasn’t happened to UNM since 2006, when it fell to UNLV.
Fact of the matter is Colorado State didn’t get the ball out of Beggin’s hands, allowing her to score 11 of the Lobos’ last 13 points, including two critical steals.
First, after Meghan Heimstra scored on a driving layup, Beggin drew a foul at the other end, sinking both free throws. The Rams drew within two points with 6:41 remaining, before Beggin went on a you-could-see-it-coming tear.
Except the Rams seemed blindsided by it.
Other times, all CSU could do was, well, nothing. Guarded doggedly by Meixandra Porter, Beggin hit a leaning runner in the lane with 4:55 left in the game — Porter draped over her like curtains on a window. It gave the Lobos a seven-point advantage and all but guaranteed UNM a third matchup with Utah.
Holt said CSU didn’t develop a case of amnesia when it came to guarding Beggin.
And, oh, how Beggin will be the last thing on Colorado State’s mind, heading into the offseason.
Assuredly — and typically — Beggin gave her teammates the nod, deferring questions about her assertiveness.
“Those points that I got were a credit to my teammates,” she said. “They did a great job setting me up and making it easy for me to. I do like to maybe make something happen when things aren’t going right, but I think that was a case of my teammates setting me up.”
Indeed Beggin was freed up by Sara Halasz, who had 20 points of her own, a team high.
Most of all, though, Beggin, whether she’ll admit it, burns with a desire to make another tournament run. This, for all intents, is her last chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament, being a senior. And the Lobos will likely need Beggin to see UNM through to the MWC championship game.
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And Lobo head coach Don Flanagan said Beggin entered Tuesday’s game with an agenda.
“She really wants to make it happened, and who am I to say that, ‘Don’t do it, Amy.’ She’s done it for years,” he said. “I kind of step back, unless I think she’s dribbling a little too much. Late in the game, we look to put it in her hands.”
And the Lobos are safer in Beggin’s hand than in Allstate’s.
