Nov. 22, 2009
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
LAS VEGAS - After falling behind by 16 in the first half, UNLV gave No. 4 North Carolina a very hard-fought battle the rest of the way in a fast-paced, high scoring contest, but a key putback by UNC's Italee Lucas sparked a 6-0 run for the visitors in the final 74 seconds of the game, giving the Tar Heels a 78-68 victory in women's collegiate basketball action on Sunday afternoon. In front of a crowd of 1,667, the second-largest ever in the Cox Pavilion, UNLV cut the deficit to five twice in the last five minutes but could not get any closer, dropping to 2-2 on the year. The Tar Heels, the highest ranked team ever to play in the Cox Pavilion, improved to 3-0.
UNC began the afternoon on fire from three-point range, hitting its first six attempts from three-point range. The Tar Heels' third trey of the game opened up a 13-3 lead just under four minutes into the game. The lead was 30-21 for the Tar Heels when they reeled off a 9-2 run, taking a 39-23 lead on Cetera DeGraffenreid's layup with 8:59 to play in the half.
The Lady Rebels began to answer back on offense with nine unanswered points, starting with a jumper from Mia Bell. Four different players scored during the run, capped by Erica Helms' jumper at 6:13 to close them within 39-32. Following a pair of baskets from UNC, the Lady Rebels used a 7-0 run to close within four, 49-39 on a Helms' trey with 3:07 to play in the half. A jumper from Amanda Anderson in the final seconds of the first half made the score 48-43.
A 6-0 run by UNC to begin the second half stretch its lead back to double-digits, and the lead hovered between eight-12 points over the first 15 minutes of the half, with the Tar Heels never able to pull away while UNLV couldn't cut more into the lead. The Lady Rebels had one last run though, twice closing within five points in the last five minutes. First, after UNC took a 67-55 lead, Bell hit a trey, and after Markiell Styles made one of two at the free throw line, Jamie Smith grabbed the offensive rebound, and would drain another three-pointer on the possession to cut the lead to 67-62 with 4:38 to play.
Three free throws pushed UNC's lead back to eight, and then another UNLV trey, this time from Kelli Thompson, made it a five-point game against, 70-65 with 3:26 to play. With the lead 72-66 with two minutes to play, UNLV had a chance to close it to four or less but Smith's layup attempt was blocked, and Lucas was sent to the line at the other end. She would miss both attempts but Laura Broomfield grabbed the rebound for UNC and quickly handed it to Lucas, who scored for an eight-point lead, 74-66 with 1:14 to play. The Tar Heels added four free throws in the final 32 seconds to extend the lead to 12 before Smith scored the last points of the game with two shots at the line.
Smith led UNLV as she posted her third double-double of the season with 17 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Thompson was also in double-figures with 15, and knocked down 4-of-8 from three-point range. Styles and Helms both added nine on the day. UNLV shot 32.4% (23-of-71) for the day, was 10-of-30 for 33.3% from downtown, and made 12-of-21 at the line for 57.1%. The Lady Rebs forced 18 turnovers while committing 16, and came up with seven steals and seven blocks.
Lucas, a Las Vegas native, led all scorers with 24 points, with DeGraffenreid adding 22. The Tar Heels shot 40.6% (26-of-64) from the floor, was 7-of-17 from three-point range, and made 19-of-32 at the line for 59.4%. That included a 10-of-10 performance from DeGraffenreid. UNC held a 53-47 edge on the boards, and also held a 34-8 advantage on points in the paint, and outscored UNLV 21-0 on fast break points.
UNLV will return to action this weekend when it hosts the Lady Rebel Round-Up on Saturday and Sunday in the Cox Pavilion. The first game will see UNLV take on Boise State at 2 pm, followed by Bradley and Washington State at 4:30 pm. Sunday will have the consolation game at 1 pm and the championship game at 3:30 pm.
