Oh, no, not again.

The Haskell Indian Nation University women’s basketball team wasn’t going to blow another halftime lead in its second game of the year, was it?

The thought had to have crept into the minds of the Fightin’ Indians as they watched a nine-point, first-half lead vanish with two minutes left to play against the University of Saint Mary after the Spires drained two consecutive three-pointers.

Haskell was up at the half by 10 points against Mid-America Christian on Friday in an eventual nine-point loss.

“I think it made us play harder. We didn’t want to lose like that,” freshmen forward Maria Stevens said.

“I think everyone wanted it more,” sophomore forward Melinda Adams.

HINU (1-1) stemmed the tide and pulled away for a 58-53 victory in its home opener thanks to clutch performances from its post players — namely Stevens, Adams and sophomore Jamie Frederick.

But timely shooting from the Spires (0-2) made the game close — too close for Haskell coach Phil Homeratha’s liking.

“That could have killed us right there,” Homeratha said of the opposition’s pair of threes. “It’s just a matter of someone going to sleep. … It’s a lapse.”

It was a lapse but not a collapse, since Haskell regained its composure and focused on taking the ball inside.

Haskell's Maria Stevens, left, passes under pressure from University of St. Mary's Amber Seevers (42) and Lindsey Seevers. HINU won Monday's game, 58-53, at Coffin Complex.

Stevens registered a spinning lay up.

Adams got a hook shot to fall.

And the Fightin’ Indians eventually pulled away for the victory.

Stevens led HINU with 15 points, 11 rebounds and five steals. Behind her was Adams with 14 points and Frederick (eight points and five steals).

Haskell picked off 20 steals from Saint Mary mostly by putting all the pressure on the Spires’ guards.

Homeratha knew forwards Amber Seevers and Dawn Walker were the main sources of Saint Mary’s points, so the Fightin’ Indians concentrated on those two and held them to 21 points.

“If we were going to be beat, we were going to make the guards beat us,” Homeratha said.

Homeratha said his team was better off at this point in the season than it was a year ago, largely because he didn’t lose any seniors to graduation.

He did, however, lose one to injury. Guard Billie Gransen will spend the year as a red shirt.

Then another starting guard, junior Lucita Yessith, went down for five games because of a strained medial collateral ligament. So an offense based on veteran guards suddenly made the post position a priority, although most of Haskell’s forwards have relatively little experience.

So far, so good.

“In spite of their inexperience, they gave us hard effort, and I can live with that,” Homeratha said of his young forwards. “That’s one of the things I’m looking for.”

Haskell will travel Wednesday to Avila.