Feb. 21, 2007
Box Score
LAS VEGAS - UNLV's Kameca Simmons scored a career-high 22 points, including a three-point play to force overtime, and Latoya Hunt came off the bench with a career-performance in the overtime period to lift the Lady Rebels to a huge upset over first-place BYU, 76-71 on Wednesday night in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action from the Cox Pavilion. The victory was the first for UNLV over the Cougars since the 2003-04 season, and it broke a four-game losing streak to improve the team to 11-14, and 5-8 in league play. BYU dropped to 19-7 overall, and remain in first at 10-3 in the MWC.
BYU had a chance to seal the game in the final seconds of regulation, as Jennie Keele had two free throw attempts with 18 seconds on the clock. She missed both however, with the rebound on the second one going to Simmons, who raced down the court, and drew a foul while converting a layup with nine seconds to play. Simmons converted the free throw to tie the score at 64-64, and BYU missed a shot on the other end, sending the game into overtime.
The Cougars opened the extra period with a three-point edge. In a play that may have turned the outcome of the game though, Faye Muller was fouled and had to come out due to an injury. Hunt entered the game to replace her, and made the second of two free throws to cut the lead to 67-65 with 3:21 left. Following a missed BYU trey, Hunt scored on a layup to tie the game, stole the ball on the next Cougar possession, grabbed an offensive rebound, and scored again for her fifth straight point, and a two-point UNLV edge. Hunt then blocked BYU's next shot, and Simmons scored on a layup with 57 seconds to play for a four-point Lady Rebel lead, 71-67. The Cougars cut the lead to two twice more, but UNLV hit three-of-four at the line in the final 18 seconds to pull out the victory.
BYU began the game on fire, hitting its first six shots from the field and two straight from the line for an 16-8 edge just over four minutes into the game. The Cougars were held to just 15 points for the last 15 minutes of the half though. They held a lead as large as 11, 25-14, before an 11-0 UNLV run tied the score at 25-25, and BYU would take a 31-28 lead into halftime.
UNLV trailed for almost the entire second half, and were down by seven, 55-48, with 7:25 to go in the half. Simmons then took over the game, as she scored seven points during a 9-0 burst, and gave UNLV its first lead, 57-55, on a layup at 4:17. The game would be tied three more times, and BYU went up 64-61 on a three-point play from Dani Wright. UNLV missed a layup on the other end, but fouled Keele to set up the final seconds of play.
Joining Simmons in double figures was Brittany Halberg, who posted 15 points while making 8-of-8 at the line. Sequoia Holmes also posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Shamela Hampton added nine. Hunt finished with five points, two rebounds, one block, and one steal, all career-highs in just three minutes of play in overtime. UNLV finished the game shooting 42.9% (27-of-63), and outrebounded the Cougars 47-36. The Lady Rebels also came up with 12 steals and seven blocks.
Wright finished with a career-high 30 points for the Cougars. Mallary Gillespie also posted double-figures with 19. The Cougars shot 39.3% for the game (24-of-61), but made just 2-of-6 in the overtime period. They were also just 4-of-17 from three-point range, and turned the ball over 19 times.
UNLV plays a second straight home game on Sunday, taking on Air Force at 3 pm in the Cox Pavilion.
