March 10, 2004
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DENVER, Colo. - Kameca Simmons came off the bench with a career-high tying 17 points, and RanDee Henry's offensive rebound and layup with 14 seconds lifted third-seeded UNLV to a 60-57 victory over sixth-seed BYU in the final game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center. The win for UNLV broke a three-year losing streak to BYU in the MWC Tournament, including two losses in the quarterfinals, and gave the Lady Rebels their third semifinal appearance in the five-year history of the MWC, while it marked the first time in tournament history BYU did not reach the championship game. UNLV improves to 22-6 with the win, while the Cougars finished their season at 15-14.
UNLV defeated BYU for the third time this season, but it wasn't easy, as BYU battled back from an 11-point deficit in the first half to take a two-point lead with 14:12 left in the game. The Lady Rebels held a 29-22 halftime advantage, but a 10-3 Cougar run to open the half tied the score at 32-32 with 15:16 on the clock. After the teams traded basketas, Danielle Cheesman hit a jumper for a 36-34 BYU edge, its first since the score was 2-0. That was also the last lead for the Cougars, as Sheena Moore converted a fast break layup and a three-pointer, followed by four straight points from Simmons to make the score 43-36. The Lady Rebels could not put the game away, and with UNLV up 57-51 with 3:47 left, the Cougars scored six of the next seven points to come within one, 58-57 with 47 seconds left. UNLV ran the clock down, and Moore took a jumper that fell short of the rim, but Henry grabbed the rebound and laid it back in with just one second on the shot clock, giving UNLV a 60-57 lead. Ambrosia Anderson's three-pointer on the other end was off the mark, giving UNLV the three-point victory.
UNLV jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the first half, and led by as much as 11, 25-14 with 4:04 on the clock, before Anderson hit a jumper at the halftime buzzer to make the score 29-22.
Joining Simmons in double figures was Henry with 15 points and eight rebounds, Moore with 12, and Sherry McCracklin with 10. UNLV shot 43.8% for the game, 68.4% at the line (13-of-19), and were 5-of-15 from three-point range (33.3%). The Lady Rebels held a 34-30 rebounding edge, though they turned the ball over 20 times.
BYU fell despite shooting 68% in the second half, and outscoring UNLV 35-31 in the second 20 minutes. The Cougars were paced by Julie Sullivan, 6-of-16 for 12 points, while Cheesman also added 12 and Kristen Kozlowski 10. BYU attempted just six three-pointers (1-of-6, 16.7%), and finished the game 26-of-55 for 47.3%, but just 4-of-9 at the line for 44.4%.
With the win, UNLV will take on second-seeded Utah in the semifinals on Friday at 2:30 pm (MST) in the Pepsi Center. The Lady Rebels are 1-1 against Utah this season, having upset the Utes 68-60 in overtime in Salt Lake City last week.
