LAS VEGAS -- There's something about postseason play that makes the UNM women's basketball team turn it up a notch
The No. 4 Lobos defeated No. 9 Colorado State 65-41 on Friday and are one win away from earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
UNM handled the Rams, especially in the first half, to advance to the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday.
The Lobos will play the winner of No. 2 TCU and No. 6 San Diego State.
UNM head coach Don Flanagan said the Lobos seem to have confidence every year that they will play their best basketball team at the end of the season.
"We've been good late in the season throughout the last few years - the last many years," he said. "I think when you have a tradition like that, players recall how they play in the tournament, how it felt to be successful in the tournament."
The Lobos are the defending tournament champions and have won the MWC Tournament four of the last five years.
They have gone to the NCAA Tournament seven years in a row and would likely need to win Saturday's championship game to earn a bid this season.
In Friday's semifinal win, Dionne Marsh led UNM with 19 points, five rebounds and three blocks.
Brandi Kimble had a solid all-around game, scoring 13 points while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out three assists.
The Lobos started the game shaky, falling behind 4-0 after missing their first six shots.
However, with UNM trailing 6-4, Marsh, Kimble and Beggin hit three consecutive 3-pointers to build a 13-6 lead.
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The Lobos were 6-of-14 from 3-point range in the first half and used an 18-2 run to gain a 33-12 lead.
Colorado State opened the second half with a 16-5 run, cutting the lead to 38-28.
However, UNM was able to regain control of the game and hold off the Rams' comeback attempt.
Marsh said the team has grown since early in the season, when the Lobos might have let the game completely slip away.
"Early in the year we probably would have been a little bit nervous because we had given up quite a few leads or lost games that were close," she said. "Towards the end of the season, the girls are getting a lot more poised."
Ultimately, there was too much ground for Colorado State to make up after halftime.
UNM forced the Rams into 12 first-half turnovers, which it turned into 13 points. Colorado State turned the ball over 21 times in the game while the Lobos coughed it up 10 times.
The Lobos lost to TCU 57-54 on Jan. 15 at The Pit and fell 59-51 in overtime in Fort Worth on Feb. 17.
UNM beat San Diego State 60-47 on Jan. 12 in San Diego and won 63-54 on Feb. 13 at The Pit.
The winner of the TCU and San Diego State matchup will take on the Lobos at 12:05 on Saturday.
Marsh - who has won two MWC Tournament MVP's - said the Lobos will look to turn their momentum into an automatic NCAA berth.
"The fact that the girls never quit this year, continued to practice hard, made everyone better, said something about their character," she said. "Hopefully we'll continue to play well in the next championship game and hopefully into the tournament."
