Babler, ThunderWolves pull off unlikely thriller.
LAS VEGAS, N.M. (GoThunderWolves.com - Dec. 18, 2010) - When a team is trailing by four with 33 seconds remaining with its opponent at the free throw line, it's pretty much over.
But not when you have the pack of drama queens that are the 2010-11 CSU-Pueblo women's basketball team.
The ThunderWolves made New Mexico Highlands pay dearly for failing to put the final straw on the ThunderWolves down the stretch, closing with a 7-2 flurry in the final half-minute to pull out a 61-60 win in its third one-point game of the young season.
After a one-and-one opportunity from the line by the Cowgirls' Domonique Rivera rimmed out, the Cowgirl mistakes began to flow.
First was a quick turnover of the rebounded missed free throw. Then a foul sent the Pack's automatic charity shooter, Rachel Espinoza (Sr., Pueblo, Colo.) to the line, where she sank two, part of a 7-for-8 night from the line that also saw her school-record consecutive free throw streak halt at 33.
Trailing 58-56 with 21 seconds remaining, the Pack tried to foul their way out of the hole, and it worked to perfection.
On two occasions, Whitley Coca, a 70 percent free-throw shooter this season, went 2-for-4 down the stretch.
Meanwhile, Espinoza drove for a layup at the 12-second mark, and with one chance remaining and trailing 60-58 with 11 seconds remaining, the Pack, and specifically Kendall Babler (Jr., Rifle, Colo.), delivered.
Babler drove to the bucket, put up the layup, and got a gift on top of it - an and-one on a foul by Coca, that allowed Babler to sink the game-winner from the charity stripe.
For the ThunderWolves, it was the second-time this season they made up a disadvantage late to pull out a crazy win, and the first time since January 2010 that the Pack earned a win on a free-throw in the closing seconds.
The unlikely win lifts a high-flying Pack team to its fourth straight win and a 7-3 mark overall so far this season. They will next hit the court Jan. 3 when they travel to UC-Colorado Springs for a conference game.
