Feb. 15, 2006

Box Score

SAN DIEGO - Brittney Thomas scored a game-high 12 points and was one of five Lady Rebels scoring eight or more points as UNLV earned a season sweep of San Diego State with a 64-48 win in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action on Wednesday night from the Cox Arena. The win improved UNLV to 14-8 overall, and 6-5 in league action, while the Aztecs dropped to 3-19 on the year, 0-12 in MWC play.

UNLV was very efficient on offense, shooting 55.3% (26-of-47) from the floor, and finished with 19 assists on the 26 field goals. The Lady Rebels also forced 20 turnovers, and came up with 11 steals and two blocks. Joining Thomas in double figures was Faye Muller with 10 points. Sheena Moore, Kisha Lee, and Tiffani Burries all posted eight points, while Nikki Hitchens turned in a strong all-around game with seven points, four rebounds, and four steals.

UNLV jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but turnovers helped the Aztecs bounce back to take an 8-7 advantage. The lead switched hands back-and-forth for the next nine minutes. After a pair of Veronica Shaw free throws gave SDSU a 19-18 edge, the Lady Rebels held the Aztecs scoreless for the final seven minutes of the half, and used an 11-0 run to go into halftime up 29-19.

San Diego State stayed close for the first few minutes of the second half, with Kate Eveland's trey cutting the edge to seven, 38-31 with 15:22 to go. Following a Shaw jumper to make the score 42-33, Thomas scored five straight for the Lady Rebels, part of a 14-3 run over the next seven minutes to put the game away. Lee's jumper with 5:33 to play capped the run, giving UNLV a 56-35 lead.

Michelle Strawberry, who scored 23 points in the first meeting, was held to just nine points in the game, while Eveland and Desiree Johnson both posted eight. The Aztecs were held to 38.3% from the floor, and were outrebounded 27-23.

UNLV will return to action on Saturday night, hosting Colorado State at 7 pm in the Cox Pavilion.