Feb. 7, 2009
Box Score
LAS VEGAS - UNLV's two post players, senior center Shamela Hampton and freshman forward Jamie Smith, both finished with double-doubles to help the Lady Rebels rally in the second half for a 57-51 upset over New Mexico in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon from the Cox Pavilion. The win, the ninth in the last 11 regular season home games for UNLV over the Lobos, improved the Lady Rebels to 10-12 overall, 3-6 in league play, while UNM dropped to 16-6, and 5-4 in the MWC.
After finishing the first half with no points and six rebounds, Smith hit the boards hard in the second half, grabbing 11 rebounds, including seven offensive. She scored eight of her 10 points in the second half off second chance points, and would finish with a season-high 17 rebounds. Hampton meanwhile posted her conference-leading 11th double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and the two post players have now combined for 19 double-doubles on the season.
New Mexico actually held a 10-point second half lead, scoring eight of the first two points after halftime to open up a 31-21 edge with 16:31 to play. Trailing 33-24 with 15:12 to play, UNLV would go on an 11-2 spurt, sparked by back-to-back putbacks off offensive rebounds from Smith. Her three-point play off an offensive rebound with 11:30 on the clock would tie the score for the fifth time, 35-35, and following two Lobo free throws, Erica Helms' trey gave UNLV its first lead of the game, 38-37.
The game would be tied three more times, and changed hands four times. A key stretch came at the 7:30 mark with the Lady Rebels trailing by three. Hampton made the first of two free throws and missed the second, but UNLV grabbed the offensive rebound and Helms hit a trey for a 44-43 lead. Eileen Weissman hit a trey on the other end to give the lead back to UNM, but Dominique Harris answered with back with her second three-pointer of the game for a 47-46 lead with 6:30 to play, and UNLV would not trail again.
The Lobos did tie the game once more, 51-51 on a pair of Amy Begin free throws. Hampton knocked down a pair of free throws for UNLV, and after two missed shots by the Lobos, Smith grabbed the defensive rebound, was fouled, and made two more free throws for a 55-51 lead with 53 seconds left. UNLV would end up going 6-of-8 at the line over the final two minutes, while forcing four missed shots and one turnover by the Lobos.
It was a low scoring first half, with just seven total points scored over the first six minutes. The Lobos took a 13-5 lead with 12:32 left in the first half, but an 8-0 run tied it for the Lady Rebels. The game would be tied again at 19-19 with 2:36 on the clock, though the Lobos would score the final four points to go into halftime up 23-19.
Joining Hampton and Smith in double figures was Helms with 14 points and five assists, while Harris finished with eight. The Lady Rebels shot 34% (18-of-53) for the game, was 7-of-19 (36.8%) from behind the arc, and 14-of-22 at the line for 63.6%. UNLV held a 41-39 rebounding edge, which led to a 16-5 advantage on second chance points.
Beggin paced the Lobos with 15 points, while Sara Halasz was the only other player in double figures with 10. UNM shot just 30.4% (17-of-56), its second-lowest performance of the season, and was 3-of-18 (16.7%) from three-point range. The Lobos were 14-of-16 at the line for 87.5%.
UNLV will be back on the road for its next contest, as it plays at TCU on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 5 pm in Fort Worth, Texas, in a game nationally televised by The Mtn.
