LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - It was a true team effort for UNLV Saturday afternoon, as 10 different players all had at least four points each in a 71-57 Mountain West conference victory over San Diego State at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Lady Rebels stayed perfect at home in league play to improve to 4-3 in the MW, good for a tie for fifth place with Wyoming, while the Aztecs dropped to 1-5 in league play with their sixth straight loss in Las Vegas to UNLV.
The biggest difference in the game was the depth of the Lady Rebels, as four Aztecs combined for 53 of the team's 57 total points. UNLV's defense was strong as well, holding its fifth league opponent under 58 points and under 35% shooting (33.3%).
For the second straight game UNLV opened with a three-pointer on the first possession of the game, this time coming from sophomore Bailey Thomas. That helped start an 11-2 run to begin the contest for the Lady Rebels. The Aztecs found their scoring near the end of the quarter to close within three twice though UNLV ended the first 10 minutes with a 20-15 advantage. UNLV slowly extended the lead to double-digits in the second quarter at 34-24, and went into the halftime break with a 34-26 edge.
THE TURNING POINT: SDSU went on an 8-0 run midway through the third quarter, cutting a 43-31 UNLV lead to just 43-39 with 4:08 on the clock. UNLV brought back in three starters, including Katie Powell who scored the next five points of the game to extend the lead to 48-39. The Lady Rebels allowed just four points in the final four minutes of the third to post a 50-43 lead, which would extend to as high as 15 in the final minutes of the contest.
STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV's bench outscored SDSU by a 27-8 margin.
LADY REBEL OF THE GAME: Powell led UNLV with 14 points and eight rebounds, while posting three assists as well.
QUOTABLE: "We take a great pride in our defense, we work on it all the time. You're not going to make all your shots every time out so that's why we concentrate on our defense as much as we do. All 15 of our players work hard in practice, and when you're not winning its hard to keep coming back with a good focus and attitude but they all have, and we like to reward them with opportunities. They obviously made the most of their chances today. "
- UNLV head coach Kathy Olivier
LADY REBEL NOTES:
* A season-high nine different players scored in the first half.
* UNLV has scored over 70 points in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
* Paris Strawther, Rodjanae Wade and Nikki Wheatley were the next highest scorers for UNLV with eight points each.
* The Lady Rebels shot 41.3% (26-of-63) for the game, were 6-of-16 for 37.5% from three-point range and 13-of-18 (72.2%) at the free throw line.
* UNLV held the Aztecs 10 points under their scoring average, as they came into the TMC posting 67.3 ppg through the first 16 games.
* UNLV leads the all-time series with San Diego State 30-28 thanks to its fourth straight win over the Aztecs. It was also the sixth straight win over SDSU in Las Vegas.
* The team's streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer is now at 127.
NEXT TIME OUT: UNLV will play in-state rival UNR for the first time this season Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 6 pm in Reno, Nevada. The game is the first of two regular season games in the Silver State Cup, the all-sports competition between the two schools sponsored by IBEW and Nevada Donor Network. There will be both a live video stream and radio broadcast of the contest, available on UNLVRebels.com.
