March 7, 2003
Box Score
LARAMIE, Wyo. - With tonight's game crucial in the Mountain West Conference race, the UNLV women's basketball team got things done with an 80-70 series sweep of league rival Wyoming Friday night at Arena Auditorium.
Wyoming tied UNLV twice in the first half of play, but the Lady Rebels led for most of the way. UNLV went into the second half with a 38-29 lead only to have the Cowgirls break out to a 17-2 run. With 12:19 remaining, Wyoming's Ashley Elliott tied the game up, 54-54, on a two-pointer. Seconds later, teammate Cherrith Young gave the Cowgirls their first lead of the contest going coast-to-coast for the fastbreak layup.
Senior All-America candidate Constance Jinks (Chicago, Ill.) countered with two free throws at 9:12 to retie the game at 60-60 and put the Lady Rebels out for good with a follow up jumper with 8:28 to go. The conference's leading scorer, Jinks notched 20 of her game-high 28 points in the second half alone.
Senior Dishawn McCracklin (Hazel Crest, Ill.) scored a career-high 16 points, while grabbing a team-high nine rebounds in the winning cause. Senior Talisha Mitchell (Stockton, Calif.) also came up big for UNLV with 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Freshman Sheena Moore (Lansing, Mich.) and junior InFini Robinson (Detroit, Mich.) each contributed eight off the bench.
For the game, Wyoming (17-10, 7-7) sent UNLV to the free throw line 20 times, where the Lady Rebels went nearly flawless shooting 90 percent (18-20). The Cowgirls, the league's top ball club in field goal percentage this season, were held to 41 percent (26-63) from the floor in the nightcap. They were led in scoring by senior Carrie Bacon, who had 21.
The Lady Rebels take only their second conference series sweep of the season, having previously beaten Wyoming at home, 68-65, on Feb. 6 in Las Vegas.
UNLV (17-10, 8-6) awaits seeding for the 2003 EAS Mountain West Conference Championships bracket to be released by the conference office after the conclusion of the BYU at New Mexico game around 4 p.m. (PST). The men's and women's tournament will be held on March 12-15 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. For ticket information, visit www.unlvtickets.com or call (702) 739-FANS.
