Dec. 5, 2010
Box Score
SAN JOSE, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV scored 25 of the game's first 34 points and rolled from there as the Lady Rebels pounded San Jose State 80-48 in women's college basketball action on Sunday afternoon at The Event Center. The Lady Rebels, who improved to 5-2 on the year with their first road win of the season, had a total of 13 players finish in the scoring column in what was a very balanced team effort.
UNLV dominated the boards all afternoon long, with a 42-24 margin, and hit a season-best 42.9% from three-point range, connecting on 9-of-21. The Lady Rebels' bench outscored the Spartans by a 44-12 margin, mostly due to the play of Markiell Styles, as the Oakland, Calif., native scored a career-high tying 13 points in front a crowd that had a significant number of UNLV fans
Kelli Thompson paced UNLV with a game-high 16 points, which included four treys. The next highest scorer was Erica Helms with a season-high 11 off the bench, while Sandrine Nzeukou posted eight points and 10 rebounds. UNLV shot a season-high 47% (31-of-66) from the floor, and made 9-of-13 at the free throw line for 69.2%. The Lady Rebels forced SJSU into 18 turnovers, which led to a 25-8 edge on points off turnovers for UNLV.
UNLV scored the game's first seven points, before the Spartans fan off five straight to close within 7-5 with 16:42 on the first half clock. The Lady Rebels then blew the game open with an 18-4 run over an 8:36 span. Thompson started the run with a layup, while Styles scored seven of her points during the spurt. Her free throw at the 8:04 mark made the score 25-9 in favor of UNLV. SJSU closed the lead to 14 twice, and UNLV would take a 41-25 edge into halftime.
The Lady Rebels made sure there was no doubt of the outcome by starting the second half on a 14-4 run, with a layup from Tia Morrison putting them up 55-29 with 13:17 to play. The lead grew to as high as 33, 65-32, on India Chaney's second three-pointer of the game, and UNLV ended the game with a jumper from Amanda Anderson to reach 80 points. That marked first time the Lady Rebels have reached 80 in regulation since the 2008-09 season, an 84-75 win over TCU on March 11.
SJSU was paced by Sara Plavljanin's 14 points, while Brittany Johnson notched 13. SJSU was held to 35.4% shooting (17-of-48) from the floor, was 1-of-8 from three-point range, and made 13-of-16 at the free throw line for 81.3%.
UNLV returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 12 with its third straight road game, a 11 am (PST) contest at No. 14 North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
