Feb. 21, 2004
Box Score
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - UNLV cut an 18-point halftime deficit to nine with four minutes left to play, but couldn't complete the comeback as Colorado State pulled off an 79-65 upset victory over the Lady Rebels on Saturday night in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action from Moby Arena. After trailing 40-22 at halftime, UNLV scored 43 points in the second half but Colorado State hit 54% in the second half and hit several key three-pointers to earn the win. The Lady Rebels drop to 18-5 overall and 7-3 in the conference, falling to third place, while Colorado State its fifth in six games to improve to 14-9 overall, and are fourth in the league at 6-5.
Turnovers were the story of the game, as UNLV was forced into 16 turnovers in the first half, including six in the first three minutes of the half. After a Nikki Hitchens layup made the score 9-8 in favor of CSU, the Rams went on a 10-1 run over a 4:30 span, taking a 19-9 edge with 11:07 to play in the first half. UNLV cut the lead to three, 19-16, on a pair of InFini Robinson free throws, but that was the closest the Lady Rebels would be the rest of the game. Colorado State finished the half on a 21-6 run over the final seven minutes of the half for a 40-22 edge, the largest halftime deficit for UNLV this season. The Lady Rebels' "Big Three" (RanDee Henry, Sherry McCracklin, Sheena Moore), were held to just a combined nine points in the half.
Colorado State increased the lead to as high as 20, 59-39, with 12:37 left, when UNLV began its second half rally. A layup from Henry started an 11-3 run for the Lady Rebels, and Moore's layup with 6:55 brought them within 10, 62-52. The Lady Rebels cut the lead down to nine three times, the last on a fadeaway jumper from Moore to make the score 68-59 with 3:31 left on the clock. CSU answered back with a trey from Joy Jenkins, and the Rams made six straight free throws in the final minute to come away with the 14-point victory.
Henry led the Lady Rebels with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Moore added 15 points, and Simmons posted her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. McCracklin finished with nine points, seven rebounds, and two blocks, despite playing with a noticeable limp for the majority of the second half after a collusion on the court. UNLV shot 49% (25-51) for the game, 65.2% (15-23) from the line, and were 0-11 from three-point range. The Lady Rebels did have a 36-27 rebounding edge, but finished with 24 turnovers for the game, while CSU turned the ball over just 14 times.
Vanessa Espinoza led the Rams with a career-high 22 points, one of five players in double figures. Lindsay Thomas posted 14 points, Jasai Ferrucho finished with 13, Kylee O'Dwyer came off the bench with 11, and Melissa Dennett poured in 10. CSU finished shooting 28-of-56 from the floor (50%), 5-of-13 from downtown (38.5%), and 18-of-27 at the line (66.7%).
The Lady Rebels will now return to Las Vegas for their final two home games of the regular season, starting with a Thursday night matchup against New Mexico in the Cox Pavilion at 7:30 pm.
