The top-ranked Pecos girls finished with an unblemished record of 14-0 and the second 2A state basketball championship

When it mattered most, Pecos found the way to celebrate for the second time in three years.

In a back-and-fourth state 2A state basketball championship Friday night at the University of New Mexico Pit that brought seven lead changes and four ties,the top-ranked, undefeated Panthers had their top player, senior Trinity Herrera, on the bench with four personal fouls and trailing 2nd-seeded Lordsburg, 52-47, with 5:54remaining.

The Mavericks 6-foot senior Madison Miller was on her way to a 29-point game when she rallied her team from a 42-34 third quarter deficit to put it ahead, 47-46, on back-to-back baskets From there, it increased to a 5-point lead when Herrera returned.

And she took over. She hit a pair of free throws, stole the ball for a layup, converted two more freebies, and just like that, Pecos was up 58-55 with 43 seconds left, junior Savannah Ortiz made 1-of-2 charity tosses, Herrera two more foul shots, and it all resulted in a 61-55 second state title in the last three years.

Pecos, which finished at 14-0 under second-year head coach Bryan Gonzales, also got a break in the final seconds when Herrera blocked a Miller shot and Lordsburg head coach Rodney Plowman screamed for a foul, which instead brought him a technical, so the Panthers dropped in two more free throws and had possession of the ball as the clock ran down and the celebration began.

Herrara, who goes 5-5 but plays bigger, wound up with the team-high 25 points, The other senior, Alexis Gonzales, added 13, sophomore Mistidawn Roybal, who fouled out with 1:45 left, tallied seven, Ortiz six, 8th-grader Natalie Stout scored three, and Trinity’s sophomore sister, Alexia, tossed in two.

Pecos’ full court pressure forced the Mavericks (12-2) into 42 turnovers. The Panthers couldn’t contain Miller and were out rebounded, but they went to the foul line 36 times and converted 23. Trinity herself made good on 11 of 14 attempts, while Lordsburg was 11-for-17 from the charity stripe.

Miller came away with 15 rebounds, but Pecos contained her in the final key minutes when it made its comeback.

It was 13-12 Panthers after one quarter and 29-28 Lordsburg at halftime. After three quarters, Pecos was in front 44-42 and then came the hectic, nail-biting final eight minutes.

“I’m so happy, so excited for the girls,” said Coach Gonzales. “They hung in there, and when Trinity came back in, they just did great things like taking the lead for good, and just coming together when it counted most.”