Nov. 18, 2008
Box Score
LAS VEGAS - UNLV opened the game with a 19-2 edge and led by as much as 31 before settling for a 71-58 victory over Southern Utah in women's collegiate basketball action from the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday afternoon. The win moved the Lady Rebels to 2-0 on the season, while SUU dropped to 0-2.
Neither team shot well from the beginning, with UNLV missing nine of its first 10 shots, while the Thunderbirds made just 1-of-13 to begin the game. The Lady Rebels' began to assert themselves defensively however, forcing 10 turnovers in the first 10 minutes. They also began to knock down their shots from outside, as two three-pointers from Erica Helms and a third from Shannon Oberg put UNLV up 10-2 with 12:24 to go in the first half. The Lady Rebels scored seven more unanswered points to go up 19-2 on a pair of Shamela Hampton free throws with 8:59 to play in the first half.
UNLV would score the final eight points of the half to take a 40-14 halftime lead. A Dominique Harris jumper to open the second half sparked a 7-2 spurt that gave UNLV its largest lead at 47-16 with 17:47 to play. The lead was 28 points, 61-33, before the Thunderbirds made a rally, scoring 25 points over the final seven minutes of the game to make the final margin just 13 points.
Helms paced UNLV with 13 points, while Harris added 12 points and six rebounds. Hampton was the team's leading rebounder with seven, to go along with nine points. As a team, the Lady Rebels shot 34.3% (24-of-70), made 8-of-28 from three-point land for 28.6%, and hit 15-of-21 at the line for 71.4%. UNLV forced 23 turnovers and came up with nine steals, but were beaten on the boards by 18 (55-37).
Caitlyn Sears led the Thunderbirds with 14 points and six rebounds. Also scoring in double figures was Challis Pascucci with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Dani Hosking with 11 points. The Thuderbirds shot 38.3% (23-of-60) for the game, including 17-of-34 for 50% in the second half, but struggled from three-point range, making just 1-of-9 for 11.1%.
UNLV will play its third straight game at home on Friday, as it hosts Nevada, Reno at 7 pm in the Cox Pavilion.
