No. 19 BYU 60, No. 16 New Mexico 55

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By DOUG ALDEN

AP Sports Writer

PROVO, Utah (AP) -- With the shot clock on the verge of expiring and just a three-point lead, Jennie Keele put her head down, made a run for the basket and took an off-balance shot that she hoped might lead to a rebound.

Instead, it was two points.

It was that kind of night for No. 19 Brigham Young, which won its 10th straight and remained unbeaten in the Mountain West Conference by beating 16th-ranked New Mexico 60-55 Thursday night.

"They were pressuring me, so I knew I couldn't really get an open shot. I just tried to drive and get to the hoop and get it up there," Keele said of her runner in the lane that gave BYU a 58-53 lead with 33 seconds left.

Keele scored five of her 12 points in the final 1:18 and Mallary Gillespie had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars (18-1, 8-0), who survived an off night by leading scorer Ambrosia Anderson.

Anderson scored just seven points, 12 below her average, before fouling out.

"I tried to run some stuff for her early in the second half, but she just wasn't in sync tonight," BYU coach Jeff Judkins said.

Dionne Marsh led New Mexico (16-5, 6-2) with 25 points and 10 rebounds. She gave the Lobos their only lead of the game, 52-50, by scoring five straight points late in the second half, but New Mexico sustain it.

"We had an opportunity. We fought for that," New Mexico coach Don Flanagan said. "We just didn't take full advantage of it."

The Lobos, who had won four in a row, outrebounded BYU 41-31, but couldn't overcome two crucial turnovers in the final minutes. Abbie Letz was called for stepping out of bounds with 2:16 left and Jana Francis fouled out when the Lobos had the ball with 1:33 left and were down only 54-52.

Keele made a layup with 1:16 remaining and had a chance at a three-point play, but missed the free throw. BYU still led 56-52 when Keele hit a runner in the lane with about 32 seconds left and the shot clock about to expire. Then she drew a foul with 24.6 seconds to go.

Keele made the first free throw and missed the second, but Gillespie got the rebound and was quickly fouled. She made one of her free throws to seal it.

Melinda Johnsen finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, career highs in both, for BYU.

"She really took the team by the collar. Her and Jennie Keele pulled them in and got them to do it," Judkins said.

BYU led for nearly the entire game and didn't allow the Lobos to score until Katie Montgomery's 3-pointer with 13:35 left in the first half. The Cougars scored eight points during the 6:25 span and added a 12-3 run later in the half to pull ahead 29-19. But the Lobos slowly came back and got within two before Anderson closed the half with back-to-back 3-pointers to put BYU ahead 35-29 at halftime.