Nov. 19, 2005
Box Score
CHICAGO - UNLV held a five-point lead early in the second half, but foul trouble sparked a DePaul rally, and the 18th-ranked Blue Demons won their 25th straight game at home, 88-72 in the championship game of the DePaul Invitational on Saturday night from the DePaul Athletic Center.
After a tight first half, in which the lead changed hands several times, UNLV (1-1) built on their one-point halftime lead with a 6-1 run to open the half, holding a 41-36 edge with 18:17 on the clock. However, junior forward Faye Muller, who had done an outstanding job of shutting down the DePaul post game, picked up two fouls and went to the bench with 15 minutes to play, while UNLV's other starting forward, Sequoia Holmes, picked up her third with 13:55 on the clock. DePaul (2-0) took advantage of their absence, running off 13 unanswered for a 49-43 lead.
Though DePaul threatened to put the game away, UNLV hung tough over the next few minutes. Trailing 57-46, the Lady Rebels scored seven of the next nine points, and had a chance to close within four as they came up with a steal and threaded a pass down the lane to Nejlah Clark. The pass was just long though, causing her to catch it under the basket and rush a shot that was off the mark. DePaul made UNLV pay for the missed chance by scoring 10 straight points to push the lead back to 18, and UNLV would come no closer the rest of the game.
DePaul actually held a nine-point lead in the first half, after Erin Cattell's layup made the score 17-8 with 12:42 on the clock. That's when Sheena Moore took over, as her layup and four-point play cut the lead to four points at 18-14. With the Blue Demons up 26-22, Moore would actually outscore the entire DePaul team 11-8 over the final five minutes. Her two free throws gave UNLV a 35-33 lead with 29 seconds to play, before a free throw from Allie Quigley cut the Lady Rebel edge to 35-34 to end the half.
Moore, who was named to the all-tournament team, finished with 25 points, and added seven rebounds and four assists. Brittney Thomas scored a career-high 21 points while hitting 6-of-10 from downtown, though four of her treys came in the final 1:43 of the game. Muller grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with seven rebounds, while Sherry McCracklin finished with eight points and five rebounds. UNLV shot 44.4% in the first half, but were held to just 13-of-43 (30.2%) in the second half to finish at 35.7% for the game. The rebounding and turnovers numbers were almost the same, as DePaul held a 43-39 edge on the glass, while UNLV turned the ball over 21 times to 20 for the Blue Demons.
Quigley led DePaul with 21 points, while Khara Smith posted 18 points and 13 rebounds. Jenna Ribino also posted double-figures with 17 points. UNLV held DePaul to just 38.2% in the first half, but they shot an impressive 71% in the second half, hitting 22-of-31 from the floor. They also finished with nine blocks in the game.
UNLV will return to action on Thanksgiving weekend, hosting the Lady Rebel Shootout on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 26-27 in the Thomas & Mack Center. The first game will feature Chattanooga and Tennessee Tech at 2 pm, followed by UNLV and Stephen F. Austin in the second game at 4:30 pm.
