Dec. 21, 2007

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - Junior guard Sequoia Holmes did her all to bring UNLV back from a 11-point second-half deficit, but missed free throws in the final minutes doomed the Lady Rebels as they dropped a hard-fought contest to Liberty 70-68 in the championship game of the Lady Rebel Christmas Classic on Friday night from the Cox Pavilion. UNLV drops to 4-7 with the loss, while Liberty improved to 11-1 for the season.

Liberty held a 47-36 lead with 17:15 to play in the game, and were up by a 54-46 score, when Holmes hit back-to-back treys to bring UNLV with two. The Lady Flames stretched the lead back up to four twice, the second time with 4:34 to play on a pair of Moriah Frazee free throws. Holmes then scored four straight points, tying the game on a jumper with three minutes to play, and she was fouled on the play but missed the free throw. Shamela Hampton was then fouled going for a defensive rebound on the following possession, but she missed two straight at the line, to keep the score tied at 62-62.

The Lady Rebels' last chance to take the lead came with a minute left when Holmes penetrated into the lane and passed off to Hampton, but her five-foot jumper was just a little short. Liberty quickly brought the ball down and Megan Frazee hit a short jumper in the paint for the go-ahead basket, for a 64-62 lead with 55 seconds left. UNLV then missed its next two shots, and Allyson Fasnacht hit four straight at the line for a 68-62 lead with 22 seconds left. UNLV didn't give up, with Shannon Oberg hitting a three-pointer, and following two more Fasnacht free throws, Holmes nailed a trey with eight seconds left to bring UNLV within 70-68. However, they could not foul Liberty on their inbounds pass, and after a Liberty timeout with two seconds left, Holmes stole the inbounds ball but could not get off a shot before the game ended.

The game was tight in the first half, as it was tied seven times in the opening nine minutes. Three-point shooting from Liberty was key however over the final four minutes, as Molly Frazee, Courtney Watkins and Allyson Fasnacht all hit a trey during a 12-2 run to make the score 37-27 with 58 seconds left. The Lady Flames would take a 39-31 lead into halftime.

Holmes made a career-high five shots from downtown, and added 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the year to lead UNLV. Hampton was the only other player in double figures with 18 points and seven rebounds, and both players were named to the all-tournament team. UNLV shot 40.4% for the game, made a season-best 10-of-20 from behind the arc for 50%, but were just 12-of-19 at the line for 63.2%. The Lady Rebels held a slight 36-35 rebounding edge, and forced a season-low 13 turnovers.

Fasnacht finished with 19 points and was 10-of-13 at the line to lead Liberty. Megan Frazee was named tournament MVP after scoring 14 points and adding nine rebounds, while Moriah Frazee added 14 points and eight rebounds. She was also named to the all-tournament team. Liberty finished the night shooting 46.2% (24-of-52), and were 18-of-26 at the line for 69.2%.

In the consolation game, Ball State posted a 68-59 win over Austin Peay. Ball State's Porchia Green and Austin Peay's Amber Bacon rounded out the all-tournament team.

UNLV will now break for the Christmas holidays before returning to action on Friday, Dec. 28 at in-state rival Nevada, Reno, in a 7 pm tipoff.