March 18, 2005
Box Score
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - UNLV cut a 14-point second half deficit to three with five minutes left, but host Arkansas ended the game on a 13-3 run to claim a 61-48 victory in a first round game in the 2005 Postseason Sportsview.tv WNIT on Friday night from the Bud Walton Arena. The Lady Rebels, who were playing in the postseason for the fifth straight year, finish their season at 16-15, while Arkansas improved to 17-13, and will play Arkansas State on Monday in the second round.
After turning the ball over 14 times in the first half, UNLV began the second half down 34-22. The Lady Rebels picked up their defense to begin the second stanza, forcing nine Lady Razorback turnovers in the first eight minutes. Danielle Allen's layup gave Arkansas its biggest lead of the game, 38-24 with 17:45 to play, but a 5-0 UNLV run cut the advantage into single digits. Following an Adrienne Bush jumper to make the score 42-31, RanDee Henry converted back-to-back layups for UNLV, and Kameca Simmons added a jumper to bring UNLV within five, 42-37, at the 11:01 mark.
The game remained tight for the next eight minutes, and Simmons' running jumper brought UNLV within three, 48-45 at the 5:43 mark. Henry picked up a costly fourth foul on the other end however, and as she went to the bench Arkansas took advantage. Sarah Pfeifer hit two straight turnaround jumpers in the paint to push the lead back up to eight, 54-46, with 2:59 to play. UNLV attempted to cut into the lead from outside but finished just 1-of-12 (8.3%) from behind the arc for the game, and Arkansas made five free throws in the last two minutes to seal the win.
UNLV took a quick 3-0 lead off a Sheena Moore trey, but the Lady Rebels would miss their next 11 shots, while Arkansas built an 11-4 lead. The Lady'Backs took advantage of miscues by UNLV to score 15 points off 14 UNLV turnovers, and shoot 40% for the half to build a 12-point halftime advantage. Despite shooting just 33%, the Lady Rebels stayed in the game by grabbing 22 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
Henry led all scorers with 17 points and posted nine rebounds, while Moore added 11 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Simmons added nine points, while Sequoia Holmes posted eight rebounds. UNLV shot just 33.9% for the game, 7-of-12 (58.3%) at the line. The Lady Rebels finished with 24 turnovers to 20 for Arkansas, and Lady'Backs held a 28-15 advantage on points scored off turnovers.
Pfeifer led Arkansas with 16 points, with Bush adding 12, including 10 in the first half. The Lady'Backs finished shooting 40.4% for the game, and hit 14-of-22 at the line for 63.6%.
