Feb. 1, 2003
Box Score
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Before a sellout crowd of 18,018, the UNLV women's basketball team fell short to league rival New Mexico, 65-60, Saturday night at the Pit.
New Mexico's Chelsea Grear scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the first half, where both teams exchanged leads six times. With 16:27 left in the half, Grear knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key, to give the Lobos the advantage for good.
Down 33-26 at halftime, the Lady Rebels were outmatched by the Lobos' long range conversion (4-of-8) and battled a 10-point deficit throughout most of the second half. UNM leading scorer Jordan Adams drained the team's eighth three-pointer of night with 10:54 left, to push the Lobos' lead to 15.
Senior All-America candidate Constance Jinks (Chicago, Ill.) sparked a 13-0 run after making two free throws with 8:43 remaining in regulation. Jinks followed up with a three-point bucket to cut New Mexico's lead to nine. Sophomore Sherry McCrackin (Hazel Crest, Ill.) was fouled by Adams at 4:28, sending her to the free throw line where she made both to bring the Lady Rebels within one.
Back-to-back layups by New Mexico (13-5, 3-2 MWC) thereafter, gave the Lobos a five-point cushion heading down the final stretch. Needing a three-point play with 12.1 seconds left (63-60), UNLV put up one last attempt, but could not come up with a game-tying bucket. McCracklin was called for her fourth foul in the final seconds as UNM's Mandi Moore sealed the victory with two makes from the charity stripe.
McCracklin turned in her second consecutive double-double performance with 17 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Jinks led the Lady Rebels in scoring with a team-high 19 points, while senior Julia Gray (Riverside, Calif.) added eight. Even in the loss, UNLV won the battle of the boards, 40-37. Both teams shot 37 percent from the floor.
The game marked the largest crowd to attend a Division I women's basketball contest this season. It also marked an all-time single game attendance record (home or away) for UNLV. The Lady Rebels drop only their second contest ever in league play at the Pit.
UNLV (11-7, 2-3 MWC) returns home this week to host conference foes Wyoming on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7:35 p.m. and Colorado State on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7:35 p.m. All games played at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
