Jan. 11, 2006

Box Score

PROVO, Utah - Mallary Gillespie tied her career-high with 21 points and BYU hit 10 three-pointers in the game to top UNLV 77-58 in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action on Wednesday night from the Marriott Center. With the win, the Cougars improved to 13-1, and are the only undefeated team in conference play at 3-0, while the Lady Rebels dropped to 9-4, 1-1 in league play.

BYU finished the game shooting a season-high 54.7% (29-of-53) from the floor, and were 10-of-20 from behind the arc, paced by Gillespie's 5-of-7 performance. Meanwhile, the Lady Rebels shot just 30.9% for the game, hitting 21-of-68, and were 3-of-20 from three-point range for 15 percent.

It was a tight contest for the first 19 minutes of the first half, as the lead changed hands six times, and neither team lead by more then five points. Following a jumper from Kameca Simmons to make the score 28-26 in favor of BYU with 1:28 to play in the half, Laura Stratton hit a jumper and Ambrosia Anderson buried a trey in the final 40 seconds to give the hosts a 33-26 edge going into halftime.

Sherry McCracklin hit two free throws to bring UNLV within six, 34-28 with 18:47 to play, but the Cougars scored seven of the next eight points to extend their lead to 12, 41-29. The Lady Rebels kept fighting, closing within eight points, 44-36 on a three-pointer from Brittney Thomas. After Shamela Hampton made a short jumper with 9:50 to play to make the score 50-40, BYU sealed the game with a 17-8 outburst over the next four minutes, fueled by three three-pointers. Anderson's trey at 5:29 gave the Cougars a 67-48 edge, and UNLV came no closer then 17 the rest of the game.

Simmons led UNLV with a season-high 15 points, while McCracklin added 11 and Nikki Hitchens posted nine. UNLV lost despite holding a 40-38 edge on the boards, and forcing 19 turnovers while committing a season-low 13. The Lady Rebels also finished with 11 steals and three blocks.

For BYU, Anderson led the way with a game-high 24 points. Gillespie finished 8-of-12 from the floor and added 10 rebounds for a double-double, while Dani Kubik made all four of her shots to finish with 10.

UNLV will return to Las Vegas for its next game, as the Lady Rebels will host San Diego State on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 7 pm in the Cox Pavilion.