January 18, 2003

Box Score

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - In its Mountain West Conference opener, the UNLV women's basketball team edged past San Diego State, 50-48, Saturday night at Cox Arena.

In the opening minutes, SDSU jaunted out to a 9-0 run and held UNLV scoreless until sophomore Sherry McCracklin (Hazel Crest, Ill.) scored on a driving layup to get the Lady Rebels on the board at 13:32. The Aztecs (6-7, 0-1 MWC) continued to stretch their lead out to as many as 13 points as UNLV shot a dismal 30 percent from the floor (8-27) and committed eight turnovers in the first half.

Down 23-19 at halftime, the Lady Rebels inched closer to SDSU in the second half of play. With 7:35 remaining in regulation, senior All-America candidate Constance Jinks (Chicago, Ill.) connected on a turnaround jumper from the baseline to give UNLV its first tie of the game, 37-37.

Led by the defensive play of senior Julia Gray (Riverside, Calif.), who ended the night with four steals, the Lady Rebels moved out in front of the Aztecs in the final stretch. Back-to-back jumpers made by Jinks extended the UNLV lead to six, but SDSU did not give up.

Four fouls committed by UNLV sent the Aztecs to the line, where they were nearly perfect all game (14-19) shooting 74 percent. A two-point jumper by SDSU's Veronica Shaw with 1:52 left gave the home team a one-point advantage.

With mere seconds remaining, both teams traded free throws, but it was Gray's two makes from the line that sealed the deal for UNLV with :07 left on the clock. SDSU made one last attempt for a game-winning three-pointer, but were stopped readily by the Lady Rebel defense.

Jinks led all scorers with a game-high 20 points, while Gray added nine. Junior Padra Strong (Fayetteville, N.C.) also contributed a career-high six rebounds of the team's combined 34.

The conference opener versus SDSU, originally scheduled for a 5 p.m. start, was delayed a little over an hour due to a power outage in the arena and surrounding campus.

UNLV (10-4, 1-0 MWC) will host Mountain West Conference rivals Utah and BYU in the upcoming week. The Lady Rebels test the Utes on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7:35 p.m. and the Cougars on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7:35 p.m. All games played at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.