Feb. 3, 2007
Box Score
LAS VEGAS - UNLV looked to claim a third upset win on its own home court this season, but TCU, which hit six-of-eight three-point attempts in the second half, rallied past the home Lady Rebels for a 75-62 victory in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action on Saturday night from the Cox Pavilion. The loss dropped UNLV to 10-11 on the year, 4-5 in league play, while TCU improved to 16-7, and 6-3 in the MWC.
UNLV actually held a seven-point lead in the beginning of the second half, as Faye Muller's offensive rebound and put back made the score 30-23 with 17:36 on the clock. Two three-pointers helped the Lady Frogs climb back into the game, with a trey from Ashley Davis giving TCU a 33-32 lead. With UNLV trailing by two following a Sequoia Holmes free throw for a 37-35 score, TCU took control of the contest with a 12-0 burst over a 1:34 span. The run was capped by a three-pointer from Moneka Knight to give TCU a 49-35 edge with 9:27 to play. Key to the Lady Frogs rally was their defense, as they recorded a total of seven steals over the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Down 15 with eight minutes to play, UNLV wouldn't quit, using a 9-2 run to close the margin to 56-48 on a layup from Shamela Hampton. TCU pushed the lead back to 13, but UNLV again rallied, this time scoring four straight to make the score 68-60 with 1:29 on the clock. The Lady Frogs sealed the game however by making their last seven attempts from the free throw line.
UNLV led for the majority of the first half thanks to its defense, as TCU shot just 25.9% (7-of-27) for the opening 20 minutes. With the score tied at 8-8, the Lady Rebels scored six straight to open up a 14-8 edge, and held TCU in single digits for the first 14 minutes of the half. The Lady Frogs scored the last four points of the half though, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Adrianne Ross to cut UNLV's lead to just two, 23-21, going into the break.
The Lady Rebels lost despite three players recording double-doubles in the same game for just the second time in the last eight years, and first since a 92-66 win over Canisius on Jan. 2, 2005. Holmes led UNLV with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Hampton posted 15 points, 12 rebounds, and Muller registered 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. The three players helped UNLV outrebound TCU 50-28, after being outrebounded by nine in the first meeting.
UNLV shot 41.4% for the game, but were forced into a season-high 28 turnovers, which resulted in TCU holding a 35-11 edge on points off turnovers. The other big factor was three-point shooting, as UNLV was just 3-of-8, with all three from Holmes. The Lady Frogs meanwhile hit 9-of-20 from downtown, including five straight in the second half, for 45%.
TCU was led by the pair of Ross and Davis. Ross finished with 25 points and 10 steals, while Davis scored 19 of her 21 points in the second half, while also hitting four treys. TCU shot 42.9% for the game, and finished with 14 steals.
UNLV will have its next three games on the road, beginning with a trip to San Diego State, for a Thursday night matchup with the Aztecs at 7 pm in the Cox Arena.
