Sports

New Mexico State Women’s Basketball Team Scores On Its Own Basket With 18 Seconds Left While Losing By 1 Point

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Women's college basketball score on own basket own goal new mexico state southern utah
Rodney Hunter / New Mexico State Athletics

New Mexico State barely escaped with a win over Southern Utah during the women’s college basketball game in Las Cruces on Friday. The Aggies actually scored on behalf of the Thunderbird with less than 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter!

They were very fortunate that they were able to recover.

Believe it or not, this was actually the second time that this happened in women’s college basketball on the same day. The other scoring blunder was far less important than the one in The Land of Enchantment.

Southern Utah almost won the women’s college basketball game.

The women’s college basketball program at Southern Utah University traveled 749 miles to the southeast to play New Mexico State on campus in Las Cruces on Friday afternoon. The Thunderbirds entered at 1-0 while the Aggies entered at 0-1.

It was all Southern Utah during the first quarter but New Mexico State battled back during the second quarter to go into the locker room at halftime down by only six points. And then both teams forgot how to score.

Although the Thunderbirds won the third quarter to extend their lead, they scored only 13 points to the Aggies’ eight. The home team trailed by 11 with one quarter left to play.

This is where things get weird.

New Mexico State battled back during the fourth quarter to get within four points with four minutes and 30 seconds remaining. It tied the game at 58-58 with just under 90 seconds left. Throw everything else out the window. It was a brand-new ball game.

New Mexico State scored on the wrong basket!

Southern Utah jumped back in front on a big three-pointer by Denver Anderson. She drained the go-ahead triple with one minute and 13 seconds remaining.

The next 55 seconds went like this:

  • Missed three-pointer
  • Foul
  • Turnover
  • Southern Utah timeout
  • Missed layup
  • Foul
  • New Mexico State made free throw
  • New Mexico State made free throw

The Aggies trailed 61-60 on defense with 18 seconds remaining. Anderson, who just splashed the three-pointer for the Thunderbirds, turned the ball over to the home team. New Mexico State immediately put the ball in the hoop on an easy layup.

…. but it was the WRONG HOOP! Southern Utah took a 60-63 lead on a made basket by its opponent!

However, the game was not over. New Mexico State ran the floor for a quick layup to get back within one and forced a turnover on the next possession. The Aggies ultimately hit a game-winning putback with under two seconds left on the clock. Here is the final sequence:

New Mexico State, after scoring on its own basket to go down by three points with less than 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, squeaked out a win. It was almost a disaster.

A similar thing happened in Arkansas on Friday morning:

The stakes were obviously a lot less important. The Aggies nearly lost themselves their second game of the season!