Nov. 23, 2003
Box Score
LOS ANGELES - UCLA took advantage of 31 UNLV turnovers and ended the game on a 20-8 run to rally past the Lady Rebels 61-51 in women's collegiate basketball action from Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sunday. The Lady Rebels held a five-point lead in the second half, but couldn't get into a flow offensively as they fell to 1-1 on the season. The Bruins won their season opener to improve to 1-0.
The score was tied for the third time at 28-28 with 17:24 left in the game when four straight points from junior forward Sherry McCracklin put UNLV up 32-28 at the 15:24 mark. The Lady Rebels took a five point lead, 37-32, after InFini Robinson hit the second of two free throws after a technical foul was called on UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier with 12:24 on the clock. A 7-2 run put UCLA up 41-40 with 9:38 left on a layup from Lisa Willis, but freshman forward Kameca Simmons answered with a layup at the other end, and Amy Loftus added a free throw at the 8:25 mark for a 43-31 UNLV advantage.
That was the last lead of the game for the Lady Rebels, as UCLA went on a 10-1 over the next 3:12 of the game, keyed by three straight baskets from Nikki Blue, and three turnovers from UNLV. With UCLA holding a 52-46 lead with 4:52 left, UNLV held the Bruins scoreless for two straight minutes, but couldn't cut into the deficit as they turned the ball over on their three possessions during that stretch. The Bruins finished the game hitting four of six at the line in the last 50 seconds to account for the final 61-51 score.
The story of the first half for UNLV was turnovers and defensive rebounding. The Lady Rebels were forced into 18 turnovers in the first half, with several coming on offensive charges. However, they countered that by grabbing 21 rebounds, including 18 defensive, while holding UCLA to just 30.3 percent (10-33) shooting from the floor in the first 20 minutes. With the Bruins holding a 11-10 lead with 8:25 left in the half, UNLV ran off a 12-3 run over the next 4:07, capped by Nikki Hitchens' basket at 4:18 for a 22-14 Lady Rebel edge. However, foul trouble forced UNLV to sit three of its starters for the last four minutes of the half, and the Bruins took advantage to score the last eight points of the half to tie the game at 22-22 after the first 20 minutes.
Simmons, a Compton native, stepped up in front of her hometown crowd as she scored a team-high 13 points coming off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from downtown. McCracklin posted her second straight and 10th career double-double with 11 points and a career-high tying 15 rebounds. RanDee Henry and Robinson both finished with 10 points for the Lady Rebels. UNLV shot just 31.4 percent for the game (16-51, but stayed in the game by winning the rebounding battle 50-37.
UCLA was paced by Blue with 15 points, while Willis added 13 and Noelle Quinn posted 11, all in the first half. The Bruins shot 35.2 percent from the floor, and were just 1-of-11 from downtown, but only turned the ball over 13 times.
The Lady Rebels will return to action this coming weekend, as they host the Lady Rebel Shootout on Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 29-30 at the Cox Pavilion. UNLV will take on San Diego on Saturday at 4:30 pm, while Georgia Southern and Richmond tip off in the first game at 2 p.m., and the Lady Rebels will take on either Georgia Southern or Richmond in Sunday's game, also at 4:30 p.m.
