Jan. 8, 2011
Box Score
FORT WORTH, Texas (UNLVRebels.com) - Leading by two points late in the game, TCU went on a 10-4 run over the final 3:23 to hold off UNLV 68-60 on Saturday afternoon in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The loss, the second straight road setback for the Lady Rebels, dropped them to 7-9 overall, 0-2 in league play. TCU improved to 10-6, 2-0 in the MWC with its fourth-straight win.
UNLV held a 29-25 halftime lead, but the Horned Frogs hit two three-pointers early in the second half and took a 36-32 edge on a three-point play from Helena Sverrisdottir with 16:27 on the clock. The game remained tight for the rest of the afternoon, with four ties over the next eight minutes. India Chaney came off the bench to give UNLV a spark with five quick points in a two-minute span, and her jumper from the baseline at the 8:26 mark gave UNLV its last lead of the game, 51-49.
A 6-0 run by TCU, with all the points from Sverrisdottir, put TCU back ahead for good at 55-51. UNLV stayed close though, and a pair of Kelli Thompson free throws with 3:43 to play made the edge just 58-56 in favor of the home team. The Lady Rebels then got cold on offense, as they did not make another field goal until the final 18 seconds. TCU meanwhile took advantage of the scoring drought with eight unanswered points. Starr Crawford finished with eight points for TCU, and scored four of the eight points during that deciding run, while Emily Carter's three-pointer with a minute to go made sealed the win with a 66-56 Horned Frog lead with 1:05 to play. UNLV added two late baskets from Thompson and Erica Helms to account for the final 68-60 score.
UNLV began the game up 7-4 before TCU answered back with an 8-2 run, going up 16-11 on a pair of Rachel Rentschler free throws. TCU held onto the lead for most of the rest of the opening stanza, and took a 25-22 edge on an Emily Carter layup with 2:26 to play. UNLV ended the half on a strong run, scoring seven straight over the final 1:43 to take a four-point halftime lead. Sandrine Nzeukou converted a three-point play, while Thompson's two free throws with 46 seconds gave UNLV its largest lead of the game.
Helms paced UNLV with a season-high 13 points, while Thompson added 11 and Jamie Smith 10. Markiell Styles added five points and nine rebounds. As a team, UNLV shot 41.7% (20-of-48) from the floor, 4-of-14 from three-point range for 28.6%, and 16-of-19 at the free throw line for 84.2%. UNLV held a slight 33-30 rebounding advantage, but turned the ball over 25 times, which resulted in a 24-12 edge in points off turnovers for TCU.
Sverrisdottir led TCU with 24 points, while Carter chipped in 13. TCU shot 43.6% (24-of-55) from the floor, including 57.7% in the second half. The Horned Frogs were 33.3% from three-point land (6-of-18), and 14-of-20 at the charity stripe for 70%.
UNLV returns to Las Vegas for its game, as the Lady Rebels will play a home contest for the first time since before Christmas when it hosts San Diego State on Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 8 pm in the Cox Pavilion, in a game to be televised live by The Mtn.
