Jan. 22, 2004
Box Score
LAS VEGAS - For the second straight game UNLV's backcourt came up big, as the Lady Rebels topped Colorado State in a hard fought 92-87 victory in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action on Thursday night from the Cox Pavilion. The Lady Rebels won their eighth straight to improve to 13-2 overall, 2-0 in the conference, and are now 10-0 at home for the season as they claimed their fourth straight win over Colorado State in Las Vegas. The Rams, who lost on the road for the first time this season, fell to 10-6 and 1-2 in the MWC.
UNLV never trailed in the second half, but saw the Rams rally from an eight-point deficit to tie the score at 59-59 on Vanessa Espinoza's layup with 9:32 left in the game. With the Lady Rebels holding a 64-63 advantage, a 9-2 run, keyed by six points from Sheena Moore, gave UNLV a 74-65 edge with 5:10 left on the clock. Two straight Kameca Simmons layups off turnovers gave the Lady Rebels their largest lead of the game, 81-70, with 2:31 on the clock. CSU answered back with five quick points, as Joy Jenkins hit a trey and UNLV was called for a foul during the shot, sending Jasai Ferrucho to the line for two free throws. She drained both, cutting the lead to six, but the Lady Rebels would make 10-of-14 at the line in the final two minutes to finish with the victory.
The Rams led for the majority of the first half, and a three-pointer from Kylee O'Dwyer gave Colorado State a 35-31 edge with 2:15 left before halftime. With UNLV resting four of its five starters for the final four minutes of the half, the Lady Rebels' second team stepped up and outscored Colorado State 7-0 to end the half. InFini Robinson scored two layups through traffic that brought the crowd to its feet, and UNLV entered halftime with a 38-35 advantage.
Moore led UNLV with 21 points on seven-of-10 shooting, and also added a career-high seven assists, while backcourt mate Robinson added 17 points and five rebounds. Sherry McCracklin finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, and RanDee Henry added 17 points. With Henry's first basket of the game, she reached the 1,000 career-point mark for her three-year career at both Detroit Mercy (737 over two years) and UNLV (278).
UNLV shot 50.9% for the game, and were 31-of-44 at the line. They were outrebounded for just the third time this season, 37-33, but forced 21 CSU turnovers while committing only 12. The 92 points for UNLV was the most since a 92-34 win over Sacramento State on Nov. 24, 2001, and the most scored against the Rams this season.
Melissa Dennett paced the Rams with a game-high 28 points on 14-of-17 shooting. She also led the team with seven rebounds. Joy Jenkins scored 14 points, O'Dwyer added 11, and Lindsay Thomas finished with 10. Ferrucho just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 assists. CSU lost despite shooting 57.6% from the floor and hitting 6-of-17 from three-point range. The Rams shot just 45. percent at the line, 5-of-11.
UNLV looks for its first-ever 3-0 start in the MWC as the Lady Rebels host Wyoming on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 pm in the Cox Pavilion.
