@UNLVLadyRebels on Twitter |  UNLV-New Mexico Box Score

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (UNLVRebels.com) - In a thrilling contest that saw both teams constantly make big plays in the game's final stretches, the UNLV Lady Rebels manage to rally from 15 points down to force overtime but could not get off a shot in the final seconds on the way to an 80-77 overtime road loss at New Mexico Wednesday night at The Pit. The loss snapped UNLV's three-game win streak and six-game streak over the Lobos, dropping its conference record to 3-3, while UNM improved to 16-2 overall, 6-1 in MW play.

UNLV jumped out to a quick 7-0 edge, and led 9-2 before a technical foul called on head coach Kathy Olivier sparked the home team. The Lobos took advantage by reeling off a 17-2 run over the next six minutes for an 19-11 advantage. UNLV was forced to play catch-up the rest of regulation, and managed to never let the Lobos put the game away. UNM held a 30-18 lead before UNLV closed the first half on a 9-1 run to make it a 31-27 game at the break.

The Lobos slowly increased the margin in the third quarter, going up by as much as 15, 52-37 at the 2:14 mark, and led 54-43 at the quarter break. 

THE TURNING POINT TO FORCE OVERTIME: UNLV trailed 66-58 when freshman Justice Ethridge drained a trey and Katie Powell added a layup to cut the edge to 66-63 with 2:45 to play. Two missed Lobos shots and a Powell three-pointer tied the game at 66 with a minute to go. The Lobos went back up by three points, but they missed a pair of free throws with 14 seconds to play. UNLV rebounded the ball and got it to Powell, who took a step-back three-point attempt that banked in off the glass with 3.3 seconds on the clock to send the contest into overtime.

OVERTIME RECAP: Another trey from Ethridge gave UNLV its first lead since the first quarter at 74-73, but the tired Lady Rebels would miss several layups inside the paint that could have extended the lead. UNM went ahead by three in the final minute before UNLV again tied the game on a long three, this time by freshman and Albuquerque native Kavionnia Brown, with 31.3 seconds to go. UNM ran a play for Jaisa Nunn on the other end and she was able to score and draw a foul with five seconds left. She made the free throw for a three-point lead, while UNLV's attempt to answer on the other end came after the final buzzer.

STAT OF THE GAME: The Lobos held a 27-11 edge on points off turnovers, though UNLV only finished with one more miscue (24-23).

LADY REBEL OF THE GAME: Powell was held without a field goal in the first half, but made 8-of-16 shots in the second half for 20 points. She also grabbed 11 rebounds for the third straight game to give her a second double-double on the year.

QUOTABLE: "New Mexico at New Mexico, great great place to play women's basketball, they have such a huge fan following. It was an epic battle tonight, the game went back and forth, but our team never said die. Defensively we missed a few things down the stretch, but Katie, Paris, Nikki, they all battled, Justice stepped us, we had so many people make plays. That's what makes us so dangerous right now when we have so many players that can score, we just needed to defend better tonight."
- UNLV head coach Kathy Olivier

LADY REBEL NOTES:
* UNLV allowed more then 57 points and 35% shooting from the floor for only the second time in conference play, as UNM finished the night 26-of-62 for 41.9%.
* Joining Powell in double-figures was senior guard Nikki Wheatley with 17 before she fouled out late in the fourth quarter.
* UNLV's bench had one of its more productive nights of the season, as Ethridge broke out of a scoring slump with eight points. Brown and Rodjanae Wade both added seven points as well, as the Lady Rebel reserves outscored the Lobos 22-10.
* New Mexico came into the game as the league's top rebounding unit, but for the second time this season UNLV won the battle of the boards as it held a 44-38 advantage.
* UNLV has set season-highs for points in a quarter in back-to-back games, as its 26 fourth-quarter points just topped the 25 third-quarter points it scored in a win at San Jose State on Jan. 19.
* UNLV shot 42.9% (27-of-63) for the game from the field, and 15-of-19 for 78.9% at the free throw line.
* The Lady Rebels missed nine of their first 10 three-point shots, before hitting 5-of-8 in the fourth quarter to force overtime. The team's streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer is now at 126.

NEXT TIME OUT: UNLV returns to Las Vegas for Saturday's home game against San Diego State that tips off at 3 pm in the Thomas & Mack Center. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and staff, and fans can get $3 off admission if they buy from UNLVTickets.com at least three hours before the game. Kids 17 and under are always free at UNLV Lady Rebel contests as well. The contest will have both a live video stream and a radio broadcast available at UNLVRebels.com.