March 9, 2005
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DENVER, Colo. - Fifth-seeded UNLV ran off a 17-0 run in the first half, and used two key three-pointers in the final five minutes from Brittney Thomas to hold fourth-seed Wyoming 64-59 in the quarterfinal round of the 2005 Mountain West Women's Basketball Championships on Wednesday afternoon in the Pepsi Center. With the win, UNLV improved to 16-13 overall, and advances to Friday's semifinal round against top-seed New Mexico at Noon (PST). Wyoming finishes its season at 16-12.
The Lady Rebels shot 50% in the first half to open up a 31-27 halftime lead, but were held to just 30% (9-of-30) in the second half. They made up for it at the free throw line, as after missing its only attempt in the first half, UNLV was 12-of-12 in the second half, led by RanDee Henry's 8-of-8 performance. Henry finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the year to lead UNLV.
Wyoming began the game with a 10-6 lead with 15:44 to play, but would not score again for 7:05 of the half, while UNLV scored 17 unanswered. Five different Lady Rebels scored during the run, capped by a layup from Henry for a 23-10 lead with 10:03 in the half. An 8-0 run brought the Cowgirls back into the game, and a three-pointer from Erin Hicks cut the edge to 31-27 going into the break.
UNLV extended the lead to seven, 37-30, on a pair of Henry free throws three minutes into the second half, but the Cowgirls kept fighting. They tied the game for the first time since the first half on a layup from Hicks with 8:07 to play to make the score 46-46, but Nikki Hitchens quickly answered back with a layup for UNLV. The game would be tied three more times, the last on a pair of Ashley Elliott free throws with 5:02 to go.
Thomas then hit her first three of the game on the other end for a 55-52 lead. Following a Wyoming layup to close within one, Thomas buried another trey for a 58-54 lead at the 2:16 mark. Hanna Zavecz brought the Cowgirls within two on a layup with 1:09 to play, but Henry would convert on a layup attempt with 36 seconds for a four-point UNLV edge. The Lady Rebels then made four-of-four at the line in the final 22 seconds to seal the win.
In addition to Henry, UNLV forward Sequoia Holmes also grabbed 14 rebounds, setting a new MWC freshman tournament record, while both tied for the third most rebounds in tournament history. UNLV also tied the tournament record with 44 rebounds.
Thomas and Moore both finished with 10 points to join Henry in double figures for UNLV, while Kameca Simmons came off the bench with eight. UNLV's bench outscored the Cowgirls 16-4. The Lady Rebels finished shooting 40% for the game, and were 12-of-13 at the line (92.3%).
Elliott led all scorers with 22 points. Zavecz added 14 and eight rebounds, while Hicks chipped in 13 points, nine rebounds. The Cowgirls shot 36.2% for the game, and were 13-of-21 at the line (61.9%).
