Jan. 21, 2009

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - UNLV outplayed BYU for the majority of the game but couldn't close out for the win, as the Cougars outscored UNLV 14-2 over the final four minutes to rally for a 67-62 victory in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action on Wednesday night from the Cox Pavilion. The Lady Rebels led almost the entire second half and were up 60-53 with 4:22 left on the clock, but would end up with their fourth loss in league play (8-10, 1-4).

While the first eight minutes of the game was back and forth, BYU (13-3, 3-1) eventually opened up an eight-point lead, and held a 28-20 advantage with 5:58 to play in the first half. UNLV then shut down the Cougars, forcing four turnovers and five missed shots while scoring 14 unanswered points to end the half with a 34-28 lead.

BYU scored six of the first seven points of the second half to close within 35-34 with 18:44 to play, and the teams traded basket for basket for the next 12 minutes. Dominique Harris would help the Lady Rebels push its lead up to eight as she hit a trey and added two free throws, while Brittany Halberg hit one-of-two at the line for a 58-50 UNLV lead with 5:02 on the clock. Following a three-point play by BYU, Shamela Hampton converted a layup on the other end for a 60-53 game with 4:22 to go. That would be the last UNLV basket for almost four minutes though.

Mindy Nielson quickly answered Hampton's basket with a layup just seven seconds later, and then Shawnee Slade nailed a trey from the top of the key for a two-point game. Halberg drove down the lane but her layup was off the mark, and in her attempt to grab the ball fouled Cassie King, who made two ends of a one-and-one to tie the game. Another missed UNLV layup led to a Nielson trey, and she added two more free throws with 49 seconds left for a 65-60 lead. Halberg would convert a layup to cut the lead to one possession, and after Jazmine Foreman missed the front end of a one-and-one UNLV had one more chance, but Halberg's three-pointer was off the mark, and Nielson made two more at the line for a five-point lead with 21 seconds on the clock.

UNLV had the edge in almost every category, shooting 42.6% to 36.6% for BYU, held a 44-39 edge on the boards, and made 12 free throws to 10 for the Cougars. However, one key was turnovers, as UNLV turned the ball over 20 times, which led to a 27-10 edge on points off turnovers for the Cougars.

Leading UNLV was freshman Jamie Smith with her fifth double-double of the year off 17 points and 15 rebounds. Hampton and Halberg both finished with 12 points each.

For the Cougars, Nielson scored a game-high 21 points, while King had a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds.

UNLV will take to the road for its next game, a Saturday afternoon contest at Utah in Salt Lake City at 2 pm (PST).