Nov. 14, 2005

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - UNLV senior forward Sherry McCracklin posted a double-double and was one of three players in double figures in the Lady Rebels' 84-60 victory over Melbourne Roos in their final exhibition game on Monday night in the Cox Pavilion.

The Lady Rebels jumped out to a big early lead, scoring 14 points in the first 3:32 of the game for a 14-2 edge on a Kisha Lee layup. Melbourne remained close, cutting the lead to nine at 25-16, before a 10-1 spurt moved the UNLV edge back up to 17, 35-18 on a Sheena Moore layup. UNLV would take a 49-31 lead into halftime.

Melbourne took advantage of the Lady Rebels' poor shooting to began the second half, holding them to just one point while scoring 10 in the opening five minutes to cut the lead to single digits at nine, 50-41. Brittany Thomas's trey at 14:45 pushed the lead back to 12, and the closest Melbourne would come would be 11 points the rest of the game at 58-47. McCracklin put the game away, scoring seven unanswered points, and the lead would rise to as high as 27, 81-54.

McCracklin finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Sheena Moore added 14 points and Sequoia Holmes 13. Faye Muller came off the bench with eight points and nine rebounds, while Kameca Simmons also finished with eight points. UNLV shot 43.7% (31-71) for the game, was 5-8 (62.5%) from downtown, and shot 77.3% (17-22) at the line. The Lady Rebels held a 45-41 rebounding edge, and forced 23 turnovers while commiting 16. They also finished with 16 steals.

Heather Oliver led Melbourne with 13 points, with Gabby Fage and Elenor Brentnal both coming off the bench to score 12 each. The Roos shoot 41.3% (26-63) for the night, and were 8-15 (53.3%) at the line.

UNLV will open the regular season this Friday, taking on Alabama State in the first game of the DePaul Invitational at 3:30 pm (PST) in Chicago. The Lady Rebels will then meet either Harvard or 18th-ranked DePaul on Saturday.