March 4, 2009
Box Score
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Trailing by 22 points with 10 minutes left in the game, UNLV used a career performance from senior Shannon Oberg to end the game on a 30-7 run, with Dominique Harris' layup with a second left giving the Lady Rebels a 64-63 victory at Air Force in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action on Wednesday night at Clune Arena.
The victory, one of the best comebacks in UNLV history, improves the Lady Rebels to 12-16 on the season, and with one game left in the regular season they clinch seventh place in the conference with a 5-10 mark. That means that UNLV will be the seventh seed in next week's MWC Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center, and will play in the opening round on Tuesday, March 10 at 7 pm against the sixth seed, a team still to be determined.
Air Force (4-24, 0-15) completed an 8-0 run, with six points at the free throw line, to grab a 22-point edge, 56-34 with 10:05 on the clock. Oberg then sparked the Lady Rebels' rally, as she sandwiched two three-pointers around a trey from Harris, and Harris hit again from three-point range to end a 15-0 spurt, brining UNLV within 56-49 with 5:52 to play.
The lead would go back up to nine, 62-53 following four straight free throws from Dunsworth, the last two coming with 2:19 to play. Oberg answered for UNLV with back-to-back treys to close the edge to 62-59 with 1:29 on the clock. After a missed Air Force shot, Harris would draw a foul, and made the first free throw. She missed the second, but Jamie Smith grabbed the offensive rebound and her putback tied the score at 62-62.
UNLV then fouled Anna Gault with 12 seconds left, and she made one of two at the line for a 63-62 Air Force lead. That set up the final play for the Lady Rebels, as Harris got the ball, penetrated into the lane and converted the layup while drawing a foul with just 1.1 seconds on the clock, putting UNLV up 64-63. She would miss the free throw, but Air Force's last second attempt fell well short of the basket.
Raimee Beck was the story of the game in the first half, with the Air Force guard scoring 20 points and hit five of six from behind the arc to help the Falcons slowly pull away for a 34-25 halftime lead. UNLV meanwhile struggled from the floor in the first half, with Shamela Hampton making 5-of-5 for 10 points but the rest of the team was just 4-of-21 in the opening 20 minutes.
The second half saw UNLV continue to miss shots while Hampton sat on the bench with her third foul. The Lady Rebels opened the half with a free throw, but would not score for the next five minutes. Air Force scored 11 straight to open up a 44-26 edge thanks to another Beck three-pointer. Oberg then hit back-to-back treys to bring UNLV back into the game, closing with 14. Following a Hampton layup that brought UNLV within 48-34, Air Force ran off eight straight points for a 56-34 edge. The Falcons would score just seven points the final 10 minutes.
Oberg, whose previous career-high had been seven points, scored all of her team-high 20 points in the first 16 minutes. She finished 7-of-10 from the floor, including 6-of-9 from three-point range. Joining her in double figures was Hampton with 15 points off 7-of-7 shooting, and Smith, who posted her 10th double-double of the year with 13 points and 13 rebounds. UNLV would finish shooting 40.7% (22-of-54) for the game, 33.3% (8-of-24) from behind the arc, and 52.2% (12-of-23) at the line. UNLV held a 36-26 edge on the boards, including a 17-5 advantage on the offensive boards.
Beck paced the Falcons with 27 points. Brooke Cultra was next with 13 while Kim Kreke chipped in 12. Air Force shot 50% (20-of-40) for the game, was 6-of-11 from three-point range (54.5%), and made 17-of-26 at the line for 65.4%.
UNLV will return to Las Vegas for its final game of the regular season when it hosts San Diego State on Senior Day on Saturday, March 7 at 3 pm in the Cox Pavilion.
