March 6, 2004

Box Score

PROVO, Utah - RanDee Henry posted her 11th double-double of the year with 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead UNLV to its first win at BYU in over 29 years, as the Lady Rebels posted a 67-59 victory on Saturday afternoon in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action from the Marriott Center. It was the first win for UNLV in Provo since the 1974-75 season, breaking an eight-game losing streak, and gave the Lady Rebels their first-ever season sweep of the Cougars. UNLV finishes the regular season with a 21-6 mark, and set a new school record with their 10th MWC win (10-4) on the way to a third place finish in the league. The Lady Rebels are the third seed in the 2004 MWC Tournament, their highest-ever seed in the five-year old tournament, and will meet BYU again in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 10 at 8:30 pm (MST) in the Pepsi Center. The Cougars, sixth-seed in the tournament, fell to 15-13, 5-9 in the conference.

The Lady Rebels led the majority of the game, but could never put away the Cougars. Both teams struggled from the floor, but free throw shooting and rebounding led UNLV to the win. UNLV made 22 of their first 24 free throws and finished shooting 26-of-31 for 83.9%, its second time this season and straight second game shooting better then 80%. The rebounding battle was also key, as UNLV held a 48-33 edge on the boards, and finished with 19 offensive boards, leading to 17 second chance points, while BYU finished with just two.

BYU led just once in the game, at 7-5. A 6-0 UNLV run made the score 22-15 with 7:40 left, and the Lady Rebels would lead by at least two points the rest of the half, taking a 32-27 edge into halftime. Two straight layups from Ashleigh Chamberlain to open the second half cut the score to 32-31, but UNLV answered back with an 8-0 run for a 40-31 lead with 15:10 left. The lead remained in the single digits until the last five minutes. BYU's Kali Taylor nailed a three-pointer, and Kestlee Dooley was fouled on the same play, and her two free throws gave the Cougars a five-point play to close within four, 52-48. Nikki Hitchens answered back with two free throws on the other end, and UNLV used a 9-2 spurt to put the game away, taking a 61-50 edge with 3:45 left to play.

Henry was just 2-of-7 from the floor, but 11-of-13 at the line for her 16 points. InFini Robinson scored in double figures for the third straight game, including a 5-of-5 mark at the line. Sherry McCracklin and Sheena Moore both added nine points. UNLV shot 38% for the game, and were 3-of-12 (25.0%) from three-point range.

Julie Sullivan led BYU with 16 points, while Chamberlain chipped in 15. The Cougars were held to 32.3%, though did hit 6-of-17 from three-point rage.