Feb. 12, 2006
Box Score
LAS VEGAS - BYU senior forward Ambrosia Anderson's three-pointer from the top of the key with 20 seconds left broke a tie game and lifted the 18th-ranked Cougars to a 55-51 win over UNLV in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action on Saturday night from the Cox Pavilion. An arena record crowd of 1,690 watched a shorthanded Lady Rebel squad turn in a very tough performance in a game that featured nine ties and 17 lead changes, but UNLV came up just short to drop to 13-8 overall, and 5-5 in league play. With the win, BYU improves to 20-2, 10-1 in the MWC.
The Lady Rebels were playing without the services of senior forward Sherry McCracklin, their top post player who is currently out after suffering a concussion against Wyoming on Feb. 4. Without her in the post, BYU was able to outrebound UNLV 41-31, and perhaps more importantly, their leading scorer, center Dani Kubik, finished the game 7-of-10 from the floor and scored a game-high 16 points. Her biggest basket of the night came in the final two minutes, following a three-point play from UNLV's Kameca Simmons to give the Lady Rebels a 51-49 edge with 1:45 to play. BYU came down and fed the ball inside to Kubik, who scored to tie the game at 51 with 1:31 on the clock.
UNLV then missed two shots on the other end, and couldn't come up with the second rebound, giving possession back to the Cougars. Anderson then drained her three-pointer for the three-point BYU lead. UNLV attempted to go for two, but Simmons' shot was off the mark. Fouled on the inbounds play, Melinda Johnsen made one of two at the line with eight seconds left to seal the victory.
BYU actually held an eight-point lead in the first half, 20-12, thanks to four three-pointers, including three alone from Mallary Gillespie. Sheena Moore and Sequoia Holmes however combined for an 8-0 run, ended by back-to-back treys from each, to tie the game at 20 with 5:28 on the clock. UNLV would take a 24-23 lead on a shot from Tiffani Burries, making her first career start in place of McCracklin, and the score was tied again at 28-28 going into halftime.
Following a Kubik layup to open the second half, UNLV scored five straight to take a 31-28 edge with 16:52 to play. The lead would switch back and forth for the last 17 minutes of play, with neither team leading by more then three points.
Simmons and Moore both scored 13 points each to lead UNLV, while Holmes added 12. Simmons also posted a team-high six rebounds. UNLV shot 36.8% for the game, and were just 3-of-12 from three-point range. The Lady Rebels did finish with 13 steals and seven blocks in the loss.
For BYU, Anderson and Gillespie both joined Kubik in double figures with 15 and 14, respectively. The Cougars shot 37.7% for the game, 45.5% (10-of-22) in the second half, and were 6-of-18 from downtown.
UNLV returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at San Diego State at 7 pm in the Cox Arena.
