Nov. 19, 2009

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - Down four with under a minute left, UNLV rallied to send the game into overtime and outscored Sacramento State 9-4 in the extra period to escape with a thrilling 97-92 victory in women's collegiate basketball action on Thursday night in the Hornets Nest. It was the second road win of the season for UNLV, improving them to 2-1 on the season, while the Hornets dropped to 0-2.

In a game that was up-tempo the entire 45 minutes, the lead changed hands seven times in the second half. UNLV looked to have finally taken control with a seven-point lead with just under nine minutes to play, 70-63. A 9-2 burst in a two-minute stretch by the host Hornets would tie the game at 72-72, but UNLV took back the lead and held it for the next five minutes. Holding an 84-80 lead with 2:34 left, UNLV saw Sac State reel off eight unanswered points over the next minute and a half. Erika Edwards' trey with 1:14 to play in the second half that gave the Hornets an 88-84 lead.

UNLV missed a layup on its next possession, but following a missed trey by Sac State, freshman Kelli Thompson was fouled and made two free throws for UNLV to make the score 88-86 with 46 seconds on the clock. The Lady Rebels then forced a turnover on the inbounds play for Sac State, with Sandrine Nzeukou stealing the ball for UNLV, and Jamie Smith would convert a layup with 20 seconds to go to tie the game at 88-88. Sac State missed two shots in the final seconds, sending the game into overtime.

The score in overtime was tied again at 90-90 when Erica Helms held a shot jumper, and Thompson added a layup with two minutes left for a 94-90 edge with two minutes left in the extra period. Sac State knocked in a pair of free throws to close within 94-92, but Helms would seal the game when she hit a trey at the shot clock buzzer for a 97-92 UNLV lead with 10 seconds to go. UNLV held the Hornets to zero field goals in the overtime, as the Hornets four points all came from the line.

At the start of the game, the Lady Rebels seemed to take their time in adjusting to the pace the Hornets were setting, Sac State hit five threes in the opening 10 minutes to open up a 10 points lead, 23-13. Sac State was also helped when Smith picked up her second foul of the half, sending her to the bench with 12:32 left in the first half. Thompson brought the Lady Rebs back in the game, hitting back-to-back treys to key an 11-0 run, turning a 29-19 deficit into a 30-29 lead with 6:48 to play on an Helms layup. The lead went back and forth for the rest of the half, with Sac State taking a 43-42 lead after hitting a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer.

Thompson and Nzeukou both set new career-highs in scoring, with Thompson posting a game-high 26 points while shooting 5-of-10 from three-point range. Nzeukou recorded 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting and added 11 rebounds for her first career double-double. Smith also had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Helms finished with 20. UNLV shot 45.5% (35-of-77) for the game, made 8-of-23 from three-point range for 34.6%, but struggled at the line, 19-of-31 for 61.3%. UNLV held a 52-48 rebounding edge, and came up with 12 steals. The Lady Rebs held a 54-34 advantage on points in the paint.

Erika Edwards led the Hornets with 22 points, and made 6-of-10 from behind the arc. Also in double figures was Charday Hunt with 18, and Jasmine Cannady and Kylie Kuhns, both with 13 each. Sac State shot 41.6% (32-of-77) from the floor, made 11-of-33 from three-point range for 33.3%, and was 17-of-30 at the charity stripe for 56.7%.

UNLV will return to action on Sunday afternoon when it hosts No.4 North Carolina at 2 pm in the Cox Pavilion, in a game televised nationally by The Mtn.