Feb. 9, 2011
Box Score
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - In a game that saw both teams make several runs at each other, TCU's 22-6 advantage on points in the paint would be the difference as the Horned Frogs held off a late UNLV rally for a 71-64 victory on Wednesday night in Mountain West Conference women's basketball action at the Cox Pavilion. UNLV made a season-high 11 three-pointers in the game, but struggled from inside the arc, making just three two-point attempts. With the loss, the Lady Rebels fell to 9-15, 2-8 in the MWC, while TCU remained within a game of first place at 8-2, 16-8 overall.
With the game tied at 8-8, TCU's Emily Carter hit a pair of free throws to start a 13-2 run for the Frogs. Helena Sverrisdottir added two treys during the spurt, including one at the 10:35 mark to put TCU up 21-10. Then it was time for a UNLV run, as Erica Helms' three free throws were the start of 10 unanswered points. Two free throws from India Chaney capped the run, bringing UNLV within 21-20 with 5:19 to play in the first half. TCU then answered with another run, finishing the first half scoring 11 of the final 13 points to take a 32-22 edge into halftime.
The lead for TCU hovered between eight-14 points for the first 11 minutes of the second half. After Mia Bell drained a high arching three-point shot to cut the deficit to 43-35 with 10 minutes to play, the Frogs suddenly got hot from outside. Emily Carter and Sverrisdottir connected on two treys each to fuel a 14-0 spurt over a 2:30 span. That gave TCU its largest lead of the game at 22, 57-35 with 7:18 to play.
UNLV would not go away though, first using a 12-2 run to close within 12, 59-47 on two free throws by Sandrine Nzeukou. Then with TCU holding a 65-52 edge with 1:36 to play, UNLV scored 12 points over the next 86 seconds, off three treys and three free throws. Kelli Thompson, who scored 10 of her team-high 19 points in the final six minutes, hit her fifth trey of the night with 13 seconds to play to make it a 69-64 game, the closest UNLV was since late in the first half. Carter made two free throws in the final 10 seconds to seal the win for TCU. After scoring 35 points in the first 34 minutes, UNLV finished with 29 points in the final six.
Joining Thompson in double-figures was Helms with 16. Jamie Smith added seven points, while Nzeukou posted four points and 10 rebounds. UNLV was held to 21.9% (14-of-64) from the floor, making 11-of-31 from three-point range for 35.5%, but just 3-of-33 from two-point range. UNLV did bounce back from a poor free throw shooting performance in its last game, making 25-of-30 for 83.3% at the charity stripe. The Lady Rebels held a 44-43 edge on the boards, and turned the ball over 12 times to 21 for TCU.
Carter led TCU with 23 points, while Starr Crawford added 18 points and 18 rebounds. Sverrisdottir also posted double-figures with 17. The Frogs shot 46% (23-of-50), were 9-of-20 from three-point range (45%), and 69.6% (16-of-23) at the free throw line.
UNLV will now take to the road for its next two games, beginning with Saturday's 2 pm contest at San Diego State.
