Dec. 20, 2006

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - A disastrous performance from the free throw line was the story of the night for UNLV, as the Lady Rebels outplayed Boise State in almost every other category for the first 35 minutes, but made just 16-of-30 attempts from the charity stripe to drop their opening game in the third annual Duel In The Desert, 76-63 on Wednesday night in the Cox Pavilion. UNLV (4-5) will now play in Thursday's consolation game at 5 pm against UT-San Antonio (1-8). BSU (8-3) moves on to the championship game to face No. 13 Purdue (10-2), 75-50 winners in Wednesday's first game.

Boise State held a 39-37 halftime lead, and stretched the lead to 48-39, before the Lady Rebels cut the lead down to four, 50-46. That's when the free throw troubles began for UNLV. Despite holding Boise State to just eight points over the next eight minutes, UNLV would miss seven of nine free throws during that stretch. The Broncos then found their shooting touch in the final five minutes, connecting on four of their next five shots. UNLV actually closed to within 62-58 on a three-point play from Sequoia Holmes, but six straight BSU points, off a three-point play and a three-pointer, gave them a 10-point lead with 2:26 to play. The Broncos then finished the game hitting five of six at the line for the 13-point victory.

The story of the first half was Holmes, as the Lady Rebel junior forward scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting to keep UNLV in the game, as center Shamela Hampton picked up two quick fouls and played just five minutes in the opening stanza. Boise State would actually open up a 16-7 edge five minutes into the game, but back-to-back treys from Holmes got UNLV back to within one. UNLV took the lead at 19-18 on a Kisha Lee jumper, and the lead changed hands twice before the Lady Rebels slowly stretched out to a 34-29 edge with four minutes to play. The Broncos wouldn't go away however, and closed the half on a 10-3 spurt to take a two-point lead into the break.

Holmes finished with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting. She was the only Lady Rebel in double figures however. Hampton finished with eight points and five rebounds, but fouled out after playing only 16 minutes. Faye Muller and Kisha Lee were next with seven points each, while Muller grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. As a team, UNLV shot 37.5% (21-of-56), including 25.8% (8-of-31) in the second half, and were 5-of-15 from behind the arc for 33.3%. The Lady Rebels did hold a 44-40 rebounding edge, and forced six steals and three blocks.

Boise State was led by Tasha Harris with 21 points. Michelle Hessing finished with 15, while Jessica Thompson added 12. The Broncos shot 41% (25-of-61) from the floor, and were 22-of-31 at the line for 71%.

Purdue was never really threatened in its game, as the Boilermakers opened up a 41-17 halftime lead. Four players finished in double figures, led by Katie Gearlds with 17 and Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton with 16. UTSA was paced by Vivian Ewalefo's 20 points. Purdue finished the game shooting 51.8%, and held the Roadrunners to just 32.1%.