Box Score

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Right after UNLV took its first lead of the game at 18-17, Sofie Tryggedsson scored the next 12 points of the game, giving Colorado State an 11-point halftime edge on the way to a 57-37 win over the Lady Rebels on Thursday afternoon in the Mountain West opener for both teams from the Cox Pavilion. With their first home loss of the season, the Lady Rebels dropped to 9-4, while CSU improved to 9-4 on the year.

Though the run to end the first half was a big key to the loss, the Lady Rebels couldn't find their scoring when they needed it in the second half, finishing with just 19 point on 7-of-32 shooting. All of UNLV's numbers for the day were season lows for a Lady Rebel offense still attempting to adjust to the loss of their three-year starting point guard. For the game, UNLV was held to 24.6% from the floor (14-of-57), was 5-of-25 from three-point range for 20% and made 4-of-9 at the line for 44.4%.

The Lady Rebels were also outrebounded by a 40-30 margin, and while they committed four less turnovers, they were outscored on points off turnovers by a 15-2 margin. Dylan Gonzalez paced UNLV with 13 points. Katie Powell added seven points and eight rebounds, while Jordyn Bell posted seven off the bench.

CSU meanwhile was led by Tryggedsson who finished with a career-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Elin Gustavsson posted 13 and Ellen Nystrom finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Rams shot 49% (24-of-49) for the game, was 6-of-15 from three-point range for 40%, and made three of their four free throws.

It was a defensive battle at the start, with just five total points scored in the first six minutes. CSU would go ahead 6-1 at the 3:53 mark on a layup, but the Lady Rebels scored seven points over the final four minutes to close within 11-8 after the first 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, CSU stretched the lead to 17-12 off a jumper with 7:36 on the clock. UNLV then reeled off the next six points of the game. Powell started with a three-point play, and Brooke Johnson followed with a three-pointer to give UNLV an 18-17 lead with 6:33 to go in the opening half.

UNLV would then proceed to miss its next seven shots, and Tryggedsson would hit five of six shots over a 5:12 span, including a pair from three-point range. Her jumper with three seconds to go made it a 29-18 halftime score. The Lady Rebels kept within distance for the first five minutes of the third quarter, as both teams had seven each to push the score to 36-25 in favor of CSU. The Rams then scored five straight to go ahead by 16, and would take a 17-point edge into the final quarter, where UNLV was held scoreless for the first five minutes, and finished with just eight points overall.

The Lady Rebels quickly are back in action as they leave Friday morning for a road contest at the Wyoming Cowgirls on Saturday at 1 pm (PT) in Laramie.