Feb. 22, 2006

Final Stats

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Kim Smith scored 16 of her game-high 26 points in the first half, and Utah held off two UNLV rallies in the second half to give the 19th-ranked Utes a 75-64 win in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action on Wednesday night from the Huntsman Center. The loss dropped the Lady Rebels to 15-9 overall, and 7-6 in league play, while Utah improved to 20-5, and 11-3 in the MWC.

Utah held a 39-24 halftime lead, and opened up its largest lead of the game at 16 points, 42-26 on a trey from Heidi Carlsen 37 seconds into the second half. UNLV then fought themselves back into the game, using a 14-2 run over the next four minutes. A layup from Sheena Moore cut the edge to just four points, 44-40 with 15:05 to play.

Utah answered the charge, and after a Kisha Lee jumper made the score 51-44, Utah ran off eight straight to open a 15-point edge, 59-44 with 8:04 on the clock. Again UNLV made a run, as the Lady Rebels outscored Utah 20-10 over the next six minutes, with Nikki Hitchens' trey bringing them within five, 69-64 with 2:01 to play. Utah hit its next two shots from the floor to open the lead back to nine, and UNLV missed its last five shots from the floor.

Smith scored 10 of the game's first 23 points, as her layup gave Utah a 17-6 lead just seven minutes into the game. The Lady Rebels cut the edge down to six, but Utah slowly increased the lead, and finished the half with an 8-2 spurt to take a 39-24 lead into the halftime break.

Moore led UNLV with 19 points, while Sherry McCracklin added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Hitchens posted her second career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. The rest of the team combined for just 15 points. UNLV shot 43.5% for the game, and finished with seven steals and five blocks. The Lady Rebels also held a 39-26 edge on the boards, after being outrebounded by six in the first meeting this year.

Smith finished 9-of-13 for 26 points to lead Utah, while Julie Larson posted 16 points, and Carlsen added 14, and was 3-of-4 from behind the arc. The Utes shot 54% for the game, and were 6-of-12 from three-point range. They also turned the ball over just nine times.

UNLV returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7 pm against Air Force in the Cox Pavilion.