Feb. 13, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - UNLV nearly rallied from a 13-point deficit with six minutes left in the game, but Air Force's Kim Kreke scored on a putback and the Falcons made three of four at the line in the final 20 seconds to claim a 71-66 victory in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action from Clune Arena on Wednesday night. The game marked the first time since the 2002-03 season that UNLV has lost to Air Force, and dropped its record to 7-16 overall, 3-7 in league play. The Falcons improved to 8-14, 2-8 in the MWC.
UNLV took its third lead of the game, 35-33, with 17:18 to play but the Falcons countered back with eight unanswered points for a 41-35 edge. The game was close for most of the rest of the half, and UNLV trailed by just three, 48-45, following a three-point play from Sequoia Holmes. The Lady Rebels then went cold on offense, missing eight of their next nine shots, while Air Force ran off a 12-2 spurt. Alecia Steele capped off the run with a layup at 6:40 that made the score 60-47, and the Falcons looked to have the game in hand.
The Lady Rebels wouldn't go away however, holding Air Force scoreless for the next 3:40 while scoring eight unanswered to close within five, 60-55 with 3:08 to play. A Falcon free throw pushed their edge back to six, but UNLV made three of its own at the line to make it a 61-58 game with 2:47 on the clock. The Lady Rebels' best chance to steal the victory came in the following sequence, when it forced a turnover and had a fastbreak, but Dominique Harris missed a layup, and Shamela Hampton's putback was also off the mark. Then on the other end, Pamela Findlay shot a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down that bounced high off the rim before falling in for a six-point lead with 1:37 to go.
UNLV still had a chance, as Holmes scored four straight over the next 25 seconds, and the teams traded free throws, to make it a 66-64 game with 49 seconds to play. Air Force's Jamie Davis attempted a layup that was off, but Kreke was on the other side for the offensive rebound, and quickly put it back in for a 68-64 lead with 20 seconds on the clock. UNLV missed a shot on the other end, and Raimee Beck made three-of-four at the line in the final 10 seconds to account for the final five-point win.
UNLV started out the game with a 5-4 edge, but Air Force ran off an 11-2 spurt to open up a 15-7 advantage seven minutes into the contest, as the Falcons made eight of their first 12 shots from the field. Air Force led 19-9, but was then held scoreless for the next six minutes. UNLV could only cut nine points off the lead however, as after a jumper from Brittany Halberg made the score 19-18, the Lady Rebels would also go through a scoreless drought, this one almost five minutes long. Air Force scored five straight to open up a 24-18 edge, and held on for a 31-29 halftime advantage.
Holmes paced the Lady Rebels with 25 points, and was 11-of-12 at the line. She also added 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season, and five steals as well. Hampton was next with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Halberg added 13 points. The rest of the team combined for just 10 points, including just four off the bench, to 17 from the Falcons. UNLV was held to 36.4% (24-of-66) from the floor, 2-of-11 shooting (18.2%) from three-point range, and made 16-of-21 at the line for 76.2%. UNLV forced 20 turnovers and had 16 steals, but could only turn that into 16 points.
Air Force led by Steele with 14 points and nine rebounds. Beck was next with 13 points, while Brooke Cultra also posted double-figures with 10, as well as a game-high five assists. The Falcons shot 46.9% (23-of-49) from the field, 4-of-14 (28.6%) on three-pointers, and made 21-of-29 at the line for 72.4%.
UNLV will play its next game on Saturday night, when it hosts Think Pink! Night. The Lady Rebels will face the Cougars of BYU in a 7 pm contest in the Cox Pavilion.
