Dec. 21, 2013

Box Score

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - For the second straight night UNLV was in a tight contest midway through the second half until a scoring drought led to a loss, as Creighton broke a tie game with a 12-0 run on the way to a 66-56 victory over the Lady Rebels in the final contest of the Duel In The Desert women's basketball tournament on Saturday night at the Cox Pavilion. The Lady Rebels dropped to 3-9 overall with the loss, and Creighton (6-6) claimed the Scarlet Bracket championship thanks to a 2-1 record in the event, winning a tiebreaker over Oregon State.

"We have to find a way to get consistent in what we do, we shot the ball well from the free throw line tonight after not doing so last night," said UNLV head coach Kathy Olivier. "In basketball you have to do a lot of things go every night, not just a couple of things."

After the lead changed hands three times in the opening minutes of the second half, Alana Cesarz tied the game for UNLV at 46-46 on a jumper at the 12:57 mark. That would be the last points for the Lady Rebels for the next six minutes of the game, and it was a costly drought, as Creighton reeled off 12 unanswered points during that stretch. McKenzie Fujan, who scored a game-high 17 points, keyed the run by scoring the first seven points. A trey from Jordan Garrison made it a 58-46 edge with 9:41 to play. UNLV managed to cut the lead to single digits, 58-49 with 5:05 to play, but was held to only seven points for the rest of the night. The Bluejays would lead by as much as 15 points before claiming the 10-point victory, which marked the first Lady Rebel game this season to be decided by double-digits.

For the first 15 minutes of the contest the game was in Creighton's favor, thanks to a 5-0 run at the start. Though UNLV tied the game three times over that stretch, it only held the lead once, at 11-9, before a 5-0 Bluejay run put them back ahead 14-11 at the 9:37 mark. A Sarah Nelson three-pointer put Creighton ahead 22-18 at the 6:15 mark. Mia Bell then led a run for the Lady Rebels, as following a layup from Aley Rohde, she sank back-to-back baskets to put UNLV ahead 24-22 with 4:42 left in the half. After a Nelson layup tied the game again at 24-24, the fourth tie of the game, UNLV scored four straight and led the rest of the half, taking a 34-33 edge into halftime.

UNLV's defense was the difference in the opening half, holding Creighton to 34.4% from the floor while forcing 11 turnovers. The second half saw the Bluejays not only shoot 40.6%, they held UNLV to just 22.7% from the floor, while turning the ball over only four times over the final 20 minutes. Two more factors that helped decide the contest were three-point shooting and rebounding, with the Bluejays connecting on 10 attempts from downtown (out of 31 total). UNLV was 4-of-10 meanwhile from behind the arc, a difference of 18 points. The Lady Rebels were also outrebounded by a 40-35 margin, including 16-9 on the offensive boards, which led to a 21-9 edge on second chance points for the Bluejays.

UNLV was paced by Cesarz and Miller, both with 14 points, while Bell added 12. Rmanii Haynes posted eight points and eight rebounds as well. UNLV shot 35.4% (17-of-48) from the field, and made 18-of-20 at the line for a season-high 90%. Miller was also named to the all-tournament team.

"I thought Dani had a really good tournament, she's attacking the basket, making good decisions, and I thought Mia did some good things tonight, its good to have her back," said Olivier. "We just need to get more people involved, more people involved in blocking out for defensive boards and we need to cut down on our turnovers."

Three players for Creighton finished in double-figures, with tournament MVP Nelson finishing with 15 and Marissa Janning, an all-tournament selection, recording 11. The Bluejays shot 37.5% (24-of-64) from the field, and were 8-of-10 at the line for 80%.

The Lady Rebels are off for the rest of 2013, and return to action with their Mountain West opener on New Year's Day with a 12 pm home contest against Fresno State in the Cox Pavilion.