LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV nearly pulled off a huge rally Wednesday afternoon, as the Lady Rebels came back from down 18 points at halftime to take a lead late in the fourth quarter, but the effort came up just short as Hawaii held on for a 66-61 overtime victory in the first game of the Rebel Division in the 2018 Duel In The Desert tournament, held at the Cox Pavilion.
Hawaii led the first three quarters of the game, as it used a 12-0 run in the second quarter to open up a 34-17 advantage with 3:18 left in the first half. The lead stretched to 18 points to end the half for the Rainbow Wahine, putting them ahead 39-21.
Thanks to its defense, the Lady Rebels slowly cut into the edge in the third quarter, closing within eight points before ending the third 10 minutes down 49-38. The Lady Rebels came out on a blitz to open the fourth, scoring 12 straight points to take their first lead of the game, 50-49 with 5:28 to play. UNLV would go ahead two after going one-for-two at the line with 13 seconds to play, before Hawaii scored on a baseline layup with five seconds to go to force overtime.
THE TURNING POINT: UNLV opened overtime with two free throws for a two-point lead, but lost Nikki Wheatley to an injury on the same play. Hawaii took advantage by draining a three-pointer on the other end, part of five straight points for a 60-57 edge with 3:20 to play. UNLV closed within one twice, and had a chance to tie the game in the final 20 seconds but missed a pair of shots in the paint. Hawaii sank four straight free throws to then end the game.
STAT OF THE GAME: Hawaii outscored UNLV by 12 points from three-point range after going 7-of-19 for 36.8%. The Lady Rebels hit just 3-of-15, and all three came from freshman Justice Ethridge (nine points).
LADY REBEL OF THE GAME: Wheatley turned in a season-best performance, as she claimed her first double-double of the year by the third quarter, and finished with a game-high tying 19 points while grabbing a game-high 13 points.
QUOTABLE: "We have given so much effort, and its a same our record is what it is. We're working hard, I feel we're getting better, and we can't take steps backward, and I felt we started slow at the start. We didn't have energy at the start, but we made adjustments and that got us back in the game. Our team is resilient, they are going to work hard and stay together and we hope they will put up a big fight again on Friday."
- UNLV head coach Kathy Olivier
LADY REBEL NOTES:
* UNLV's bench came up big Wednesday, scoring 30 of the team's 61 total points. Smith led the way with a season-high 17 points.
* After allowing Hawaii to shot over 50% in the first half (14-23 - 61%), the Lady Rebels held the visitors to just 25% (5-of-20) in the second half.
* UNLV won the rebounding battle for the second straight game, 42-35. That led to a 12-4 edge on second chance points.
* UNLV is currently playing without two of its top three returnees from last year, as senior center and leading scorer Katie Powell (right ankle) has been sidelined since the first half of the game against USC (Dec. 1). Senior forward Paris Strawther (broken left pinky) has been out since the UC Irvine game (Nov. 13). Both are expected to be out the rest of the non-conference slate.
NEXT TIME OUT: UNLV will play in the consolation game on Friday at 12 pm, against either Florida or Utah, as those two teams play their opening round game on Thursday. All eight games in the Duel In The Desert will have a live stream through FloHoops.com, while UNLV's game on Friday will have a live radio broadcast available at UNLVRebels.com.
