March 8, 2008
Box Score
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Utah's Leilani Mitchell finished one rebound short of a triple-double, and the 15th-ranked Utes opened the game with a 21-4 lead on the way to a 82-46 win over UNLV in the regular season finale for both teams in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action from the Huntsman Center on Saturday afternoon.
The loss moves the Lady Rebels to 8-21 overall, and they finish the conference season at 4-12, and in a tie for seventh place with Air Force. However, the Falcons hold the tiebreaker over UNLV due to a higher NCAA RPI, so the Lady Rebels will be the eighth seed in next week's Mountain West Conference Tournament. UNLV will open play in the tournament on Tuesday, March 11, against ninth-seeded Colorado State at 6 pm in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Utah finished the game shooting 50% (32-of-64) from the floor, and made nine three-pointers for the afternoon. The Utes held a commanding edge in rebounding, 45-29, and forced 16 turnovers, which they turned into 27 points. Mitchell finished with 14 points, 13 assists, and nine rebounds, and was one of four players in double figures. Kalee Whipple led the team with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.
UNLV meanwhile was held to just 30.4% shooting (17-of-56), and was 4-of-20 from three-point range for 20%. Sequoia Holmes paced the squad with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Brittany Halberg added 14 points, and Shamela Hampton seven. The rest of the team combined for just 10 points.
The Utes made nine of their first 14 shots from the floor, while UNLV made just one of eight and trailed 21-4 just over seven minutes into the game. The lead increased to as high as 25 in the first half before Utah took a 44-19 edge into halftime.
UNLV began the second half with four quick points to close within 21, 44-23 off two free throws from Holmes with 18:06 to play. Any hope of a comeback was quickly shut down when the Utes ran off 16 unanswered points, to take a 60-23 lead with 12:06 left in the game. Utah would lead by as much as 43, 82-39, before the Lady Rebels scored the final seven points of the game.
