March 24, 2004

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - Junior forward RanDee Henry scored 18 of her team-high 23 points after halftime and UNLV scored 48 second half points to rally past Western Kentucky 78-75 in the Postseason Women's NIT quarterfinals on Wednesday night from the Cox Pavilion. After blowing an 11-point first half lead and falling behind by nine in the second half, the Lady Rebels rode their post play to claim their 25th victory of the season, and reach the WNIT semifinals for the first time in school history.

UNLV improved to 25-7 on the year, tied for the fifth most wins in school history and the most since the 1990-91 season, while its three postseason wins in the WNIT are the most ever for the school. The Lady Rebels will play the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal game between Iowa State and St. Joseph's in the semifinal round at a date and location to be determined. Western Kentucky finished its season at 20-14.

The score was tied at 10-10 in the first half when a layup from Henry started a 10-0 spurt from the Lady Rebels. A trey from InFini Robinson gave UNLV its largest lead of the game at 11 points, 23-12 with 10:31 left in the first half. With the score 25-16, the Lady Toppers suddenly found their offense, and proceeded to outscore UNLV 21-5 over the final 8:30 of the first half to enter the lockerroom with a 37-30 halftime advantage. WKU's Leslie Logsdon scored 13 of her 23 points during the first-half ending run.

Following a layup to give WKU a 41-32 with 18:12 left in the game, UNLV exploded for 10 points over the next two minutes, taking a 42-41 lead on Kameca Simmons' layup. The two teams battled tight for the rest of the game, as the lead would change hands 12 more times. Following the tenth tie of the game, Henry hit two free throws and Simmons followed with a layup for a four-point Lady Rebel advantage. WKU answered back and cut the lead to two, but Henry's three-point play with 46 seconds left put UNLV up 75-70. The Lady Toppers wouldn't go away, closing within one after a pair of free throws, but Robinson sealed the game, hitting two at the line with 18 seconds left for a 78-75 UNLV lead. The Lady Toppers got off two three-pointers in the final 10 seconds but both were off the mark.

UNLV's two All-American candidates, Henry and Sherry McCracklin, combined for 48 points and 19 rebounds, and each made nine free throws as the Lady Toppers found themselves in foul trouble trying to contain the two Lady Rebel post players. Henry finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the year, tying her with McCracklin for first in MWC, while McCracklin registered 15 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. Robinson posted 13 points and six assists, and Simmons came off the bench with 14. UNLV just missed having five players in double figures, as Sheena Moore was limited by foul trouble, and scored nine. The Lady Rebels shot 44.2% for the game, and were 27-of-37 at the line for 73%.

Tiffany Porter-Talbert paced WKU with 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting and added nine rebounds, while Logsdon added 23 points. Carla Bartee posted 12 points in 20 minutes before fouling out, one of three players to foul out in the game. The Lady Toppers shot 50% for the game, and were 6-of-14 (42.9%) from three-point land, but 5-of-10 (50%) at the line.