ALBUQUERQUE — Exactly one week ago, DeShauna Lynn and Del Lynn Peshlakai were foes.

On Friday night in The Pit, they were sisters of the Santa Fe Indian School program.

Their faces adorned the white T-shirts 12 Lady Braves wore in honor of the sisters who were killed in a car crash in Santa Fe just after they traveled with the Newcomb Lady Skyhawks for their first round Class AAA State Basketball Tournament game.

Moments after they pulled off a 56-50 overtime win over District 2AAA foe West Las Vegas to win the state crown, they pointed to the shirt that their head coach, Cindy Roybal, rose over her head in honor of them.

In seven days, the Lady Braves (23-6) turned the deepest of tragedies in a small sliver of triumph that did not erase the pain, but it helped with the healing process.

They also carried deeper meanings to life other than what Roybal called "an insignificant basketball game."

"With such a tragedy happening at this time, it brought us together," SFIS junior point guard Jenine Coriz said. "It taught us to cherish your loved ones and just tell everybody you love them and keep everyone close."

The second-seeded Lady Braves, playing their final game as a member of 2AAA before moving to 5AAA, were never closer than after their 36-minute heart-stopper, in which they survived injuries to three key players who still played, an early seven-point deficit and the near-make by Lady Dons forward Linda Esquibel in the final seconds of regulation.

Of course, there had to be a leader, and it was Coriz, as she has been almost since the time she was a freshman starter.

It was her 3 with 1:35 left in regulation that turned a 43-42 lead by the fourth-seeded Lady Dons (28-5) into a 45-43 SFIS advantage. She made up for a missed breakaway opportunity in which she blew a layup after a Lakeshia Padilla steal.

Thankfully, Esquibel could not hold on to the loose ball, giving Coriz a renewed lease on her season.

"I was trying to draw a foul, and it didn't go in," said Coriz, who was nursing an injured ankle (as was her sister Justina). "That 3 made up for it."

West Las Vegas' junior point guard, Miranda Martinez, answered with a fade-away jumper from the baseline 30 seconds later to tie the score. She finished with a team-high 18 points.

SFIS set up to make Coriz the heroine, but she lost the ball on her drive to the basket with 2.5 seconds left.

Enter Esquibel.

The senior, who played the final 14:20 nursing four fouls, streaked downcourt as Martinez lofted her a pass into the right corner of the court. Esquibel grabbed it, turned, and fired a 3 that hit the side of the rim, and bounced away.

"We tried take advantage of her strengths - size, speed and her being able to explode and get up," Lady Dons head coach Jose "Majic" Medina said. "That play right there, we wanted to get the ball in her hands and see what happens."

What happened in the extra 4 minutes was a Lady Braves coronation. Tied at 46, Coriz scored on a breakaway with 2:16 left. Then Miranda Medina hit a pair of free throws.

Coriz followed with a pair from the line for 52-47 with 1:06 left in t-he 2009-10 season.

Another Coriz free throw at :46.1, then another by Marissa Pacheco at :26.7 made a blue trophy a certainty at 54-47.

The Lady Dons cloaked their hardware in red thanks to a 1-for-8 stretch from the field in overtime. It was a theme that continued after building a 19-12 lead in the second quarter on the strength of a 6-for-9 streak. After that, they hit 10 of 32 field goals.

Did the iron women of West Las Vegas hit a wall after a 46-45 overtime win over St. Michael's on Thursday?

"I don't think so," Esquibel said. "I think it's just frustrating to have to go again instead of just finishing it in regulation."

Not that the Lady Braves were celebrating the extra period. They already were hurting enough with the Corizes on bum ankles and junior Jessica Tsosie played sparingly because of an injured right shoulder. All three injuries came in a 62-59 win over Lovington Thursday. That added to the burden they felt in carrying on their season in honor of the Peshlakais.

"We were on such an emotional roller coaster, trying to help the family, trying to get ready for state," Roybal said. "It was difficult. They buried them, and I reminded the girls that we had to win it for them. On the day they buried those two poor girls, we won a state championship."

The prayers the coaches and players uttered after the game touched on tragedy in the face of a championship. And they brought forth words that every family clings to when hearts are weak and filled with despair.

"Thank you for this room of wonderful young ladies," Roybal said in the team's prayer circle. "Even though, sometimes I was a pain. They knew, they knew, I did it because I love them as my own daughters."

Contact James Barron at 986-3045
or jbarron@sfnewmexican.com.