Feb. 12, 2011

Box Score

SAN DIEGO (UNLVRebels.com) - San Diego State shot 58.5%, including 73.7% in the second half, on the way to a 77-60 victory over UNLV in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Viejas Arena. UNLV fell to 9-16, 2-9 in the MWC with the loss, while SDSU improved to 10-13, 4-7 in the league.

With SDSU holding a 10-7 lead early in the game, Courtney Clements drained a three-point to spark a 13-2 run over the next 4:21. Clements would hit two treys during that stretch, and ended the first half with 18 points. A layup from Paris Johnson ended the run, putting SDSU up 23-9 with 9:28 to play in the first half. UNLV slowly chipped into the lead, and would go into halftime down eight points thanks to a three-point play by Sandrine Nzeukou with 39 seconds left in the first half.

Twice in the second half UNLV cut the lead down to seven points, the second time on a layup from Markiell Styles at the 17:34 mark, bringing UNLV within 39-32. A 6-0 run from the Aztecs however pushed the lead back to 13 points, and they would lead by double-digits the rest of the game. The Lady Rebels would stay within striking distance for the first eight minutes of the second half, and trailed by 10, 50-40, on a driving layup by Ta'Nitra Byrd with 11:26 to play in the game.

SDSU would put the game away with an 11-1 spurt over a 3:41 span. A jumper from Malia Nahinu ended the run, putting the Aztecs up 61-41 with 7:22 to play. The lead extended to as high as 24 points, but the Lady Rebels kept battling the rest of the game, cutting the final margin down to 17.

Styles paced UNLV with 16 points, while Kelli Thompson posted 13 points and Erica Helms 11 off the bench. Jamie Smith added a team-high 10 rebounds. UNLV shot 30.4% (17-of-56) for the afternoon from the floor, was 3-of-12 from three-point range for 25%, and made 23-of-31 at the free throw line for 74.2%. UNLV was outrebounded by a 37-30 margin, but forced 18 turnovers while committing only 12.

Clements led all scorers with 22 points, while Paris Johnson was a perfect 8-of-8 for 18 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double for the Aztecs. SDSU made 31-of-53 from the floor (58.5%) was 4-of-12 from three-point range (33.3%), and 11-of-15 at the line for 73.3%.

UNLV will play a second straight road game on Wednesday, Feb. 16, against Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo., at 6 pm.