Jan. 18, 2012
FORT WORTH, Texas (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV jumped out to a big second half lead and held off a three-point fueled rally to claim its first-ever win at TCU, 72-57 on Wednesday night in Mountain West conference women's basketball action from Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. With the victory, the first for UNLV over the Horned Frogs since the 2008-09 season and third all-time in the series, the Lady Rebels improved to 14-5 on the season, 2-1 in league play. TCU meanwhile dropped to 8-10, 1-2 in the conference.
UNLV senior forward Jamie Smith also made history in the contest, as she reached 1,000 career points with her second three-pointer of the game at the 12:20 mark of the first half. With that basket, she became the second player in Mountain West history, men and women, to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in their career, joining Utah's Kim Smith. Smith is also the third Lady Rebel to accomplish the feat, as both Linda Fröhlich (1999-2002) and Pauline Jordan (1987-1990) posted 1,000 in both in their careers at UNLV.
The Lady Rebels were hitting from everywhere to start the game, knocking down five of their first seven on the way to a 12-4 lead three minutes into the contest. TCU cut the lead to three, 17-14 on a free throw with 12:30 to play in the half, and were within six, 22-16 following a layup by Natalie Ventress with 10:19 on the clock. UNLV would then hold the Horned Frogs to just five points over the final 10 minutes of the half. A 16-2 run by the UNLV, which featured points by five different Lady Rebels, was capped by a layup from Markiell Styles with 1:11 to play for a 38-18 edge. UNLV went into halftime with a 38-21 advantage, after shooting 45.5% (15-of-33), including 6-of-11 from three-point range for 54.5%.
In the second half the Lady Rebels kept it up in the opening minutes, with a 13-5 run giving them their largest lead of the night at 51-26 off a jumper from Lenita Sanford. TCU then would make a run, connecting on a long three-pointer at the same time Sanford was injured and had to leave the game briefly. The trey from the Horned Frogs started a run for the home team, as they hit four of five from three-point range, part of a 22-5 run that brought TCU within eight points. Chelsea Prince capped the run with a layup to make the score 56-48 with 7:28 to play.
UNLV would make the plays down the stretch though to come out with the double-digit win. After Prince's layup, UNLV scored five straight to go back up by 13. Following five unanswered points from TCU to make it a 63-55 contest with 2:57 left, Smith drained a trey at the shot clock buzzer for an 11-point lead, and the Lady Rebels closed out with the final six points of the game for the 15-point victory.
Smith led four players in double-figures with a team-high 16 points. Sanford added 15 points and Sandrine Nzeukou 10, with all three posting seven rebounds for the night. Kelli Thompson finished with 12 points and a career-high tying eight assists, while Styles recorded seven points and nine rebounds off the bench. UNLV shot 42.6% (26-of-61) from the floor, was 9-of-18 for 50.0% from three-point range, and 11-of-17 at the line for 64.7%. The Lady Rebels held a 44-30 edge on the boards and finished with 10 steals.
Ventress led all scorers with 23 points for TCU, while Antoinette Thompson added 13 before fouling out. No other Frog scored more then six. TCU shot 36.2% (21-of-58) for the game, was 7-of-27 from behind the arc for 25.9%, and 8-of-9 at the charity stripe for 88.9%.
UNLV plays the second of two games on the road this week on Saturday, Jan. 21, with a 1 pm (PT) contest at New Mexico in Albuquerque.
