Feb. 10, 2010
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - UNLV used a 17-0 run in the second half to pull off a stunning upset, 65-59 at New Mexico in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action on Wednesday night in The Pit in front of a crowd of 7,224. The Lady Rebels trailed by 10 at halftime, but rallied to win at The Pit for the first time since Jan. 6, 2002, breaking a seven-game losing streak on the Lobos' home court.
The win improved UNLV to 11-13 on the season, 4-6 in league play, while the Lobos dropped to 14-8, 6-4 in the MWC. The Lady Rebels also improved to 7-4 on the road this year with the win, the most since going 9-5 in the 2003-04 season.
New Mexico held a 36-26 halftime lead, but the Lady Rebels would score nine of the first 12 points of the half to close within 39-35 on Jamie Smith's three-pointer at the 15:33 mark. The Lobos stuck back with five straight points, pushing the edge back to nine, 44-35 at the 14:38 mark. That would be the Lobos' final points for the next 7:25 of the contest. as UNLV's defensive effort forced the Lobos into eight missed shots and four turnovers during the stretch. The Lady Rebels scored 17 unanswered during that run, which included points from five different players. Markiell Styles started the run with a pair of free throws, while Mia Bell hit back-to-back treys and India Chaney finished the run with a layup for a 52-44 advantage with 7:26 on the clock.
With UNLV up 55-47, the Lobos scored seven straight, with two Amy Beggin's two free throws bringing UNM within 55-54 with four minutes to play. Both teams then hit three-pointers on its next possession to keep the edge at one, but Kelli Thompson would drain a trey for the Lady Rebels to extend the lead to 61-57 with 1:48 to play. Beggin added two free throws to cut the edge to two, and that was the closest New Mexico could come as the Lobos missed a short jumper on their next possession and were forced to foul. UNLV made four-of-four at the line in the final 30 seconds while the Lobos missed twice from three-point range to give the Lady Rebels the road victory.
UNLV jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead just two minutes into the game after hitting three of its first four shots. New Mexico answered back with a 5-0 run of its own to knot the score at 7-7, the first of six times the game would be tied in the first half.
The Lady Rebels had success going inside in the opening half, as Sandrine Nzeukou's three-point play put UNLV back up 10-7, and after UNM grabbed a lead, Styles converted a three-point play putting the Lady Rebels back up 13-12 at the 12:03 mark. The lead would go back and forth for the next eight minutes, but foul trouble begin to hurt UNLV, with Smith, Nzeukou, and Styles all sitting out a significant amount of time after picking up two first half fouls each.
After an Erica Helms jumper brought UNLV within 28-26 at the 4:04 mark, UNM finished the half with an 8-0 run, with the final seven coming from Amanda Best, including a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to put the Lobos up 36-26.
Helms paced UNLV with 17 points and seven assists, while Smith posted 10 points and seven rebounds and Chaney added 10. Styles came off the bench to register nine points and eight rebounds. UNLV shot 38.3% (23-of-60) for the game, including 52% in the second half. From behind the arc the Lady Rebs connected on 9-of-22, with an impressive 7-of-10 performance in the second half. UNLV was also a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line, held a 40-35 edge on the boards, and turned the ball over just 12 times.
Best scored a game-high 18 for New Mexico. Beggin was the only other player in double-figures with 12. UNM shot 36.4% (20-of-55) for the night, and was held to just six field goals in the second half (6-of-27, 22.2%). The Lobos made 11-of-32 from behind the arc for 34.4%, and was 8-of-15 at the line for 53.3%.
UNLV returns home for its next contest, on Saturday, Feb. 13 against San Diego State at 3 pm in the Cox Pavilion. Saturday's game will be UNLV's Pink Zone game, and will be televised nationally by CBS College.
