Jan. 12, 2008
Box Score
LAS VEGAS - UNLV shot over 60 percent in the first half to open a 13-point lead, and led by as much as 20 in the second before settling for a 58-48 victory over Air Force in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action on Saturday night from the Cox Pavilion. It was a true team victory for the Lady Rebels, as they won a game for the first time in school history without a single player reaching double figures, though five players scored at least seven.
The win gave UNLV a its first 2-0 start in league play since the 2003-04 season, and improved its overall record to 6-9, while the Falcons dropped to 6-8, 0-2 in the MWC with their second straight loss.
The Lady Rebels used a smothering defense to hold Air Force to just three points over the first 10 minutes of the game, though they would only open a 10-point lead, 13-3. A 7-2 run by the Falcons brought them within five points, 15-10 on a layup from Ashley Myers. Karla Gergelova answered back for UNLV with a trey, and the lead went back to 10 points on Shannon Oberg's trey with 4:48 left, making the score 23-13. The closest Air Force came the rest of the half was seven points, but UNLV scored the final six points of the half to take a 31-18 edge. UNLV finished the opening 20 minutes making 14-of-22 from the floor for 63.6%, while Air Force was held under 30% (7-of-24 for 29.2%).
Air Force cut the edge into single digits on a Raimee Beck trey with 14:35 left in the game, which made the score 33-25, and were within nine points, 40-31, with just under 11 minutes to play. UNLV then slowly put the game away with an 18-7 run that opened up a 20-point edge. Allison Holliday's jumper with 2:51 left capped the run, and made the score 58-38. Air Force would score the final 10 points of the game to account for the final 10-point Lady Rebel victory.
Dominique Harris and Brittany Halberg tied for the team lead for UNLV with nine points each. Sequoia Holmes scored eight points, her first game this season in single digits, and added eight rebounds, while Shamela Hampton also posted eight points and seven rebounds, while Holiday tallied seven off the bench. In all, 10 players scored for UNLV, who shot 48% (24-of-50) from the floor, 7-of-17 for 41.2% from three-point range, and forced 24 turnovers while coming up with 10 steals and eight blocks.
Pamela Findlay paced the Falcons with 11 points, while Chasmine Jones came off the bench with nine. Air Force shot 34% (17-of-50) for the night, and were 4-of-15 from downtown.
UNLV will next play its first MWC road game of the season, as it travels to Provo, Utah, for a Wednesday night contest against BYU at 6 pm (PST).
