ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The West Virginia women's basketball team had everything stacked against them last night when they played Mountain West Conference champion New Mexico on its home court, The Pit, in an NCAA tournament Spokane Region first-round game. The Mountaineers faced a large and hostile crowd of 13,000, battled fatigue as they tried to adjust to the thin air and, on top of that, withstood foul trouble incurred by senior center Olyanki Sanni, who played only 20 minutes and was held to eight points.

But West Virginia has Chakhia Cole on its roster and New Mexico does not.

Cole scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Mountaineers to a 61-60 victory against the Lobos. The Mountaineers (25-7), the fifth seed in the region, will play No. 4 Vanderbilt (24-8), a 75-47 winner against Montana, for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16.

Cole's final shot -- a short jumper in the lane with 17 seconds left to give the Mountaineers a 61-60 lead -- may have given her team the final margin, but the only reason they were in position to win is because she made several huge shots down the stretch. Cole's biggest shot wasn't the winner --it was a 3-pointer she made with 2:01 left that tied the score at 55-55 after the Lobos had taken advantage of a technical foul to West Virginia's Ashley Powell.

New Mexico coach Don Flanagan said his team put themselves in position to win, but in the end, couldn't stop Cole. He said he knew she was a good player, but came away from the game convinced she is a superstar.

"I didn't see [Cole] listed as their premier player," Flanagan said. "And she is a better shooter than I thought she would be but she can score in a lot of ways. ... She has good quickness, she plays hard -- we really didn't have much of an answer for her, she's just one heckuva player.

"We don't play many teams with as much talent as West Virginia, in fact I think that might be the most talented team we've played this year."

Flanagan admitted the home-court advantage clearly helped his team keep the game even at times when it seemed like West Virginia (20-13) was poised to pull away.

The Lobos' ability to knock down 3-pointers kept them close enough to make it a one or two-possession game for much of the second half.

New Mexico climbed to its first lead of the half at 53-52 with 4:02 to play.

Powell then got entangled with a Lobos player after a scramble on the floor and was hit with a technical foul with 2:35 left. Amy Beggin hit both free throws to push the Lobos lead to 55-52, but the Mountaineers forced a turnover to take possession. Cole then hit the big 3-pointer to tie the score and, after the Lobos regained the lead on two free throws by Dionne Marsh, Cole hit two free throws to tie the score again at 57-57 with 1:23 to play. Olayinka Sanni made a lay-up to give West Virginia a 59-57 lead with 45 seconds to play.

But New Mexico's Angela Hartill hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to give New Mexico its final lead of the game at 60-59 before Cole hit the winner.

New Mexico had one last chance, but Brandi Kimble missed a short jumper with three seconds left, then Marsh missed a putback at the buzzer.