ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The West Virginia women's basketball team beat New Mexico in dramatic fashion, 61-60, in an NCAA tournament first-round game Saturday night at The Pit, the Lobos' home court.

The Mountaineers battled a hostile crowd, the elements that come with the high altitude and needed to use every ounce of energy to win a game that wasn't decided until the Lobos missed a couple of shots in the final five seconds.

Now the challenge for the Mountaineers is this -- how do they regroup -- emotionally and physically -- to be ready to play Vanderbilt? West Virginia (25-7) is the No. 5 seed in the Spokane Regional while Vanderbilt (24-8) is No. 4 and the two will meet at about 9:30 tonight at The Pit with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.

West Virginia coach Mike Carey said the Mountaineers were a little sluggish yesterday, but he expects them to bounce back in time for tonight's contest. He said it can be tough to get a team ready after such an emotional game, but believes the Mountaineers will be prepared.

"We had a tough game and our girls are a little bit tired, but we have to refocus," Carey said. "Our legs are what concerns me. I don't think it's altitude as much as it is that we need to recover and stay focused. It is nothing more than just recovering and getting our legs back."

West Virginia senior Chakhia Cole said: "I'm not tired, we're trying to get ready for our next game and I think that is just a matter of regrouping. We have to come together and get it done and focus on Vanderbilt and then we'll come together in the locker room like we normally do."

The Mountaineers might not be tired, but they will clearly be playing on a lot less rest than the Commodores, who blew out their first opponent, Montana, so all of their key players were able to rest during the second half.

"Of course, you would have liked to have seen them play 40 minutes," said Carey when asked if it was a disadvantage for his team. "But they didn't, so there is no sense talking about it. We just need to come out and match their intensity. We have to get physical and pressure the ball because they play hard."

Mountaineers senior center Olayinka Sanni is the team's leading scorer and senior Meg Bulger is the third-leading scorer and leading 3-point shooter. The two combined to average 29 points per game, but in the opening-round win against the Lobos, the two scored only 17 points and shot only 8 for 22 from the floor.

Bulger was especially off the mark and only 4 of 13 field-goal attempts, including 1 for 5 from the free-throw line.

"It is really important for Olayinka to play well tomorrow," Carey said. "She was ready to play but she might have been too hyped for the game so she needs to get focused again and I know she will.

"As for Meg, I don't say much to shooters because they are capable of hitting eight in a row or missing eight in a row, so I just want them to take good shots and Meg's shots were good ones, so she'll be fine."

Carey was asked what he thought about the environment at The Pit. "This is one of the loudest arenas and it seemed like people were right on you and I've heard my name called a lot of different ways, but last night I learned some new ones," he said, then laughed. ... Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said she didn't talk to her players about the differences in playing at a high altitude because it is irrelevant. "We've never mentioned the word altitude. A lot of people warned us about all the precautions we had to take -- this is a national tournament and these kids are young kids and kids adjust, they aren't like us, we're old, kids are resilient, they bounce back, they adjust. Then if I mentioned the word altitude they'd have to go and look it up so we haven't even gone there."