Feb. 14, 2018 Box Score
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - @UNLVLadyRebels | UNLV Box Score
UNLV overcame early foul trouble to two starters thanks to an inspired performance from its bench, and the Lady Rebels shot 70% in the second half on the way to a 67-59 road victory at Air Force in Mountain West women's basketball action Wednesday night at Clune Arena. Thanks to its 12th-straight win over the Falcons, UNLV remained in first place in the conference at 10-3, tied with Wyoming, and are 15-9 overall following the season sweep.
UNLV's Nikki Wheatley picked up her second foul of the game at the 5:59 mark, and Paris Strawther was whistled for her second with 3:46 to play in the first. Both players would sit out the rest of the first half, with UNLV trailing 11-9. The Falcons took advantage of their absence by scoring nine of the next 13 points of the game, taking a 20-13 edge 35 seconds into the second quarter.
THE TURNING POINT: The Lady Rebels trailed 26-23 with 3:30 to play in the half, when Brooke Johnson keyed a 9-0 run over the rest of the quarter to give UNLV a 32-26 halftime edge. Simone Sheppard drained her first three-pointer of the year during the run at the shot clock buzzer, while she and Kennedy Wharton both added free throws before halftime. UNLV scored the first basket of the second half as well to make it 11 unanswered points, while the Falcons went 6:27 without a point during that stretch.
LADY REBEL OF THE GAME: Air Force only came within five points once the rest of the game, at 51-46, but Johnson would knock down two three-pointers over a 1:30 span, along with a jumper from Jordyn Bell, to put the Lady Rebels up 13. Johnson finished the night with a game-high 21 points and was a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line.
STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV's bench outscored the Falcons by a 13-4 margin. In the first meeting, Air Force's bench held a 14-5 advantage.
QUOTABLE:
"In the first half we got in foul trouble, but our bench stepped up and did a great job, RJ (Wade), Kennedy (Wharton), Simone, it was a great team effort today to get a win on the road like this. Of course we missed Katie (Powell) tonight but Paris did a great job despite her foul trouble, she's strong and worked so hard in the game tonight."
- UNLV head coach Kathy Olivier
LADY REBEL NOTES:
* Leading scorer and rebounder Katie Powell sat out tonight's game with an ankle injury suffered at Wyoming on Feb. 10.
* UNLV finished the game shooting 53.5% (23-of-43) from the floor.
* Johnson moved into 12th place all-time at UNLV with 1,357 points, passing Danielle Miller (2012-15) and Geannine Jordan (1986-90).
* Strawther and Wheatley both finished in double-figures for UNLV with 13 and 10, respectively.
NEXT FOR THE LADY REBELS: UNLV is back home and looking for another season sweep when it hosts San Diego State on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 3 pm in the Cox Pavilion. It will be Play4Kay Day at UNLV, and the Lady Rebels will be wearing pink jerseys to show their support for breast cancer research. Fans that wear pink to the game will receive $3 admission, while the first 100 fans will also receive a free pink drink koozie.
Single game ticket prices for the Lady Rebels this season are $8 for adults, $5 if bought online at UNLVTickets.com, while kids 12 and under are free at all UNLV Lady Rebel home contests.
