Jan. 27, 2005

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - RanDee Henry scored 14 second half points to lead UNLV to its first Mountain West Conference victory of the year, a 63-60 upset over first place New Mexico on Thursday night from the Thomas & Mack Center. Playing its first conference home game after three straight losses on the road, UNLV shot 54% in the second half to pull out the win and improve to 10-8 overall and 1-3 in league play. The Lobos fell to 14-3, 3-1 in the conference as their four-game win streak was snapped. UNLV improved to 14-2 all-time against the Lobos in Las Vegas, though New Mexico swept the season series in 2003-04.

It was a tight game the entire way, with 10 lead changes and nine ties, and the largest lead for either team was eight. New Mexico tried to pull away in the middle of the second half with a 7-0 spurt, taking a 48-42 lead on Lindsey Arndt's layup with 10:30 to play. UNLV turned up its defense, forcing two turnovers while scoring six unanswered to tie the game at 48 with seven minutes left. The lead changed twice more, and Dionna Marsh, who scored a game-high 19 points for the Lobos, knotted the score again at 54-54 with 3:16 on the clock. Henry was then fouled on the other end, and made one of two free throws for a one-point UNLV edge, and following a missed UNM jumper, Brittany Thomas buried a trey for a 60-56 lead with 2:06 to go.

Katie Montgomery, who beat the Lady Rebels on a late layup in Albuquerque last year, cut the lead to two on a layup, but again Henry made one of two at the line for a 61-58 edge. New Mexico then turned the ball over, but Marsh stole Sheena Moore's pass and hit a short jumper to close within 61-60 with 35 seconds to play. Having beaten a full court press, Nikki Hitchens converted on an open layup for a 63-60 edge, and New Mexico missed two three-pointers in the final seven seconds.

Henry played just 11 minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls, but it was the Sheena Moore show, as the junior point guard hit 5-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc, for 13 points. UNLV had opened the game up 6-0 before UNM bounced back with seven straight. After Henry picked up her second foul and went to the bench, the Lobos ran off six unanswered for a 21-13 lead with 8:10 to play in the half. Two treys from Moore kept the Lady Rebels close, and Sequoia Holmes' layup with 16 seconds to go brought them within one 30-29, going into halftime.

One of the key factors to the game was rebounding, as after being outrebounded by three in the first half, UNLV held a 20-8 edge in the second half, and finished with a 32-23 edge on the board. Joining Henry in double figures for the Lady Rebels was Moore with 17, and Holmes with 14. UNLV shot 53.8% in the first half, and 49% for the game, including 5-of-10 from three-point range.

Marsh, one off her career high of 20, posted 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting to pace the Lobos. Also in double figures was Abbie Letz and Arndt, both with 11. New Mexico shot 52.2% in the first half, but were held to 44% in the second, and were just 2-of-8 from three-point range in the final 20 minutes.

UNLV returns to action on Saturday afternoon as the Lady Rebels host Air Force at 3 pm in the Thomas & Mack Center.