Nov. 15, 2004

Box Score

SEATTLE, Wash. - UNLV's Sheena Moore scored a game-high 22 points and the Lady Rebels outrebounded South Carolina 22-12 in the second half to hold off the Gamecocks 66-63 on the second day of the WBCA/BTI Classic at Washington's Bank of America Arena on Monday night. After trailing by 10 in the first half, UNLV closed the half on a 21-11 run and took the lead for good on a 15-6 run midway through the second half to even its record at 1-1, while South Carolina dropped to 0-2.

After Moore began the game with a trey, South Carolina's full court press forced three quick turnovers that they converted into three layups, and a three-pointer from Lauren Simms gave the Gamecocks a 9-3 edge. The lead increased to 21-11 after Simms connected on her fifth basket of the game with 13:05 left in the first half. USC hit seven of its first eight shots, but the Lady Rebel defense stepped up and limited them to just five of its next 24 attempts in the half. With the lead six in favor of South Carolina, UNLV ran off six straight to end the half and tie the game at 32-32.

The lead switched hands twice in the second half, but following a Melanie Johnson jumper to make the score 46-45, the Lady Rebels ran off 15 of the next 21 points, taking a 58-49 lead on a bank shot from Amy Loftus with 5:34 to go in the game. The Gamecocks would not go away, using a 9-2 spurt to cut the lead to just two, 60-58, with 2:20 on the clock. Moore however was a clutch player at the end for the Lady Rebels, as she was six-of-six at the line in the final two minutes, including two free throws with 10.6 seconds on the clock after South Carolina's Burgess cut the lead to just one on a steal and layup with just under 30 seconds to go. The Gamecocks' game-tying three-pointer was off the mark, giving the victory to UNLV.

After being outrebounded 25-15 in the first half, UNLV held a 22-12 edge in the second half, with seven rebounds coming from Loftus, who turned in a career-best game for the Lady Rebels as she was 4-of-5 from the floor for 10 points, and added eight rebounds and two blocks. Moore, one day after a career-high 34-point performance against Minnesota, finished with 22, including a career-best performance at the line, hitting 12-of-13 at the charity stripe. RanDee Henry posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Kameca Simmons added 11 points. UNLV shot 37% for the game, and were 3-of-15 from outside, but made 23-of-29 at the line (79.3%). The Lady Rebels played its second game with two starters sitting out with injuries, preseason All-Mountain Conference forward Sherry McCracklin (right Achilles) and junior forward Nikki Hitchens (left MCL)..

Lauren Simms, who scored 14 points in the first seven minutes of the game, was held to seven the rest of the way and finished with 21 for South Carolina. Johnson was the next highest scorer with eight. USC shot 38.5% for the game, and were a perfect 8-of-8 at the line.

The Lady Rebels play their home opener on Friday at 7 pm in the Cox Pavilion against Central Florida.