LAS VEGAS (AP) -- UCLA spoiled Katie Hnida's historic moment, and gave the Bruins' new coach something to build on.

Hnida became the first woman to play in a Division I-A game Wednesday, kicking an extra point that was blocked in New Mexico's 27-13 loss to UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl.

''I can replay in my mind seeing that hand block the kick, and that's going to be what I think about before I go to bed tonight,'' Hnida said of her low kick.

Lobos coach Rocky Long defended his decision to use Hnida.

''Katie is a valuable member of our team,'' Long said. ''I think it's a very unusual situation, and she's put in a position a lot of times that's very uncomfortable. I made the decision before the game that we were going to let her kick the first extra point.''

Hnida, with her hair in a ponytail, attempted the kick after the Lobos took a 6-3 lead on Desmar Black's 55-yard interception return with 8:20 left in the first quarter.

The 5-foot-9, 150-pound Hnida was on the Colorado roster in 1999 and suited up for the Buffaloes in the Insight.com Bowl. She walked on to the New Mexico team before this season.

''The only way that I've been able to handle this so well is because of the program that I am in,'' Hnida said. ''The players and the coaches are absolutely phenomenal. This isn't common. It isn't going on anywhere else in the country.''

UCLA interim coach Ed Kezirian's brief time in the spotlight went much better than Hnida's.

Kezirian, UCLA's director of academic services, filled in as coach after Bob Toledo was fired at the end of the regular season.

''This game isn't really about me, it's about the players,'' Kezirian said.

Karl Dorrell, a former UCLA receiver and more recently an assistant with the Denver Broncos, was hired last week to replace Toledo, but has not yet taken over the team.

Dorrell is inheriting a team loaded with talented underclassmen, led by sophomore receiver Craig Bragg, freshman safety Jarrad Page and freshman halfback Tyler Ebell.