Jan. 22, 2011
Box Score
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV forced New Mexico to miss 19 of its first 20 shots from the floor on the way to an early 17-4 lead, and held off a second half Lobo rally for a 59-51 victory in The Pit in front of 8,111 fans on Saturday afternoon in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action. With a victory at The Pit for the second straight year, UNLV improves to 9-11, 2-4 in league play, while the Lobos dropped to 6-11, 0-5 in the MWC.
New Mexico hit its first shot of the game, a layup from Jessica Kielpinski to the score at 2-2. The Lobos would then miss their next 19 shots. Following a pair of UNM free throws to make the score 4-2, UNLV scored the next 15 points over a 4:16 span. Four different players scored during the run, with a layup from India Chaney putting UNLV up 17-4 at the 11:32 mark.
The Lobos second field goal would not come until 8:15 left in the first half, a three-pointer from Caroline Durbin to close the edge to eight points. UNLV extended the lead to as high as 14 points, before the UNM rallied to close within 31-23 at halftime. The Lobos were held to just five field goals in the opening stanza, and shot 14.3% (5-of-35). The Lady Rebs meanwhile made 11-of-27 for 40.7%.
New Mexico came out of halftime scoring six of the first eight points, closing to within 34-29 on a Jasmine Patterson jumper. After a basket from Sandrine Nzeukou, four straight Lobo points cut the edge to 36-33 with 15:45 to go. The lead was then cut down to two points, 40-38, on another Durbin trey, with 12:28 on the clock.
Kelli Thompson responded with five unanswered points for UNLV, a pair of free throws and a long three-pointer to put the Lady Rebs up 45-38 with 9:10 to play. UNLV would hold at least a two-possession advantage for the rest of the game. The Lady Rebels finished by making six free throws in the final 1:06 to claim their first conference road win of the season.
Thompson led UNLV with a game-high 15 points, including four three-pointers, and she grabbed seven rebounds, all in the second half. Nzeukou posted a double-double for the third time in the last four games with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Erica Helms also finished with 10 points. UNLV shot 32.7% for the game (18-of-55), was 6-of-20 from three-point range (30%), and 17-of-24 at the line (70.8%). The Lady Rebels held a 54-43 edge on the boards, leading to a 17-5 advantage on second chance points. UNLV also won for the first time this season when it had more turnovers then its opponent, 20 to 10 for UNM.
The Lobos were paced by Durbin with 12 points, while Amanda Best added 11. Three more players had eight points each. UNM was held to a season-low 23.5% (16-of-68) form the floor, made just 4-of-25 from behind the arc (16%), and 15-of-20 at the charity stripe for 75%.
UNLV will play next on Wednesday, Jan. 26, when it hosts Wyoming at 7 pm in the Cox Pavilion.
