Dec. 1, 2002

UTEP 84, Northwestern State 73

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - UCLA's Michelle Greco earned tournament MVP honors after leading the Bruins to a 72-64 victory over the UNLV women's basketball team to claim the 2002 Lady Rebel Shootout championship title Sunday night at the Cox Pavilion.

Greco scored a game-high 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and a near perfect 9-of-10 conversion from the free throw line. Teammates Gennifer Arranaga and Whitney Jones also turned in double-digits for the Bruins. Arranaga, who was named to the all-tournament team along with Greco, contributed 12 points, while Jones added 10.

UNLV led for most of the first half, after sparking a 4-0 run in the opening minutes of regulation. Both teams traded shots thereafter, with the score tied on six occasions. With 4:50 remaining in the half and the game tied at 28-28, the Bruins were able to jump out to a 13-6 run to take a 41-34 lead into halftime.

The second half proved costly as the Lady Rebels shot 23 percent from the free throw line (3-of-13) and turned over the ball nine times. UCLA led the rest of the way taking its largest lead of the game (14 points) with 1:15 remaining. In the last minute of play, UNLV was able to cut the lead down to six on three three-pointers, but it would not be enough for a comeback.

For the Lady Rebels, senior All-America candidate Constance Jinks (Chicago, Ill.) tied Greco with a game-high 26 points. She also took down seven boards, before fouling out with 49 seconds left in the game. Junior InFini Robinson (Detroit, Mich.) added 16 points, after burying four of the team's six three-point baskets of the night.

Sophomore Sherry McCracklin (Hazel Crest, Ill.) tied a career-high in rebounds with 14 and added four points in the loss. Jinks and McCracklin were selected to the all-tournament team.

UCLA ends the Lady Rebels' perfect home record in the Cox Pavilion (9-1), which opened for the 2001-02 season as the new home court for women's basketball and volleyball at UNLV. The win also marked the Bruins sixth straight win over the Lady Rebels in the all-time series.

UNLV (3-1) will take to the road this weekend to compete in a non-conference matchup versus Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (4-0) on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. (CST) in Corpus Christi, Texas.

2002 LADY REBEL SHOOTOUT ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMMichelle Greco, G, UCLA - Tournament MVPGennifer Arranaga, G, UCLAConstance Jinks, G, UNLVSherry McCracklin, F, UNLVVaida Zagurskyte, G, UTEPDiamond Cosby, G, Northwestern State