Nov. 13, 2009
Box Score
CEDAR CITY, Utah - UNLV freshman Kelli Thompson scored all 12 of her points in a three-minute stretch in the second half to key a 19-1 run, helping the Lady Rebels pull away for a 61-43 season-opening victory at Southern Utah in women's college basketball action on Friday night at Centrum Arena.
The Lady Rebels began the game on a scoring drought, falling behind quickly by a 9-0 score, and trailed 21-16 with 4:54 left in the opening 20 minutes, UNLV then began to feed its inside post duo of Markiell Styles and Sandrine Nzeukou. The two combined for 12 points during a 22-6 run over the rest of the first half and the first 7:26 of the second half. A layup from Jamie Smith capped the run, making the score 38-27.
Southern Utah made one last run, scoring 10 of the game's next 12 points, A jumper from Chanel Thorley made the score a one-possession game, 40-37 with 10:14 left on the clock. The score remained the same for almost three minutes until Thompson ignited the UNLV run that put the game away. First, Thompson hit a trey at the 7:25 mark, and Erica Helms added a three-point play a minute later for a 46-37 lead. Following a free throw from SUU's Challis Pascucci, Thompson converted a three-point play, and then hit two more three-pointers on consecutive possessions for a 55-38 UNLV edge with 4:17 to play. Layups from Styles and Helms gave UNLV its largest lead of the game, 59-38 with 2:58 to play.
Nzeukou led all scores with 13 points, while Styles added 12 and Helms finished with 10. Jamie Smith grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with seven points and three blocks, and freshman Mia Bell had six assists off the bench. UNLV shot 39.7% (25-of-63) for the game, was 6-of-21 from long range (28.6%), and made all five of its free throw attempts. The Lady Rebels held a 39-35 edge on the boards, and also forced 20 SUU turnovers while coming up with 11 steals.
Thorley paced the Thunderbirds with 12 points and eight rebounds. Pascucci and Stephanie Sampson both finished with seven each. SUU was held to 29.8% (14-of-47) from the floor, and made just 3-of-18 from three-point range for 16.7%.
UNLV will return to action on Sunday afternoon for its season opener, as the Lady Rebels will host Nebraska at 2 pm in the Cox Pavilion.
