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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV's senior duo of Katie Powell and Nikki Wheatley combined for 29 points and the Lady Rebels used an impressive team defensive effort to shut down the Air Force Falcons 62-47 Wednesday night in Mountain West women's basketball action in Clune Arena. The Lady Rebels evened their conference record to 6-6 and are alone in fifth place, while the Falcons suffered just their second MW home loss to drop to 4-8 in conference play.
UNLV completely smothered the Falcons in the first three quarters, holding the home team to 36 points on 11-of-46 shooting. For the game, Air Force would finish just 17-of-59 from the floor for 28.8%, and were also outscored by eight on points off turnovers, 19-11. Another big key for the Lady Rebels was their depth, as all 15 players appeared in the game and UNLV would post a 29-6 advantage on points off the bench.
The Lady Rebels got out to a fast start and never looked back, scoring 12 of the first 14 points of the game. UNLV ended the first quarter with a 13-point edge while shooting 62.5% in the first 10 minutes and it was still a 13-point lead going into halftime. UNLV pushed the advantage to 17 after three quarters, and led by over 20 for the majority of the fourth until the Falcons scored the final six points of the game after the Lady Rebels emptied the bench.
THE TURNING POINT: Air Force closed within six points at 26-20 off a three-pointer from Emily Conroe. Wheatley then scored on back-to-back possessions just 17 seconds apart, and following the second basket, made a two-handed steal when Briana Autrey attempted to drive to the basket. That ignited UNLV's 9-2 run to end the first half for a 35-22 lead, and Air Force game no closer then nine the rest of the way.
STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV shot 10-of-16 in the first quarter for 62.5%, while the Falcons were held to 3-of-14 for 21.4%.
LADY REBEL OF THE GAME: Wheatley made all six of her shots from the floor to finish with a game-high 15 points for the Lady Rebels in just 14 minutes of action.
QUOTABLE: "A really good game by the Lady Rebels tonight. We played hard on both ends. We played really well on the defensive end, we held them to 28% from the floor, and that's hard to do on the road. Offensively we shot almost 50%. Katie Powell had a great performance, Nikki was six-for-six but was was great tonight was our defense. Overall great win for us tonight."
- UNLV head coach Kathy Olivier
LADY REBEL NOTES:
* Powell reached the 1,000 point mark in her career on her second basket of the game, and finished the night with 1,011 (60 at Arkansas, 941 at UNLV).
* Powell recorded her third double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high tying 11 rebounds.
* Wheatley's 15-point outing moved her into 17th place all-time at UNLV in career scoring with 1,252 points, passing Vicki Lander (1987-91).
* UNLV used its depth early and often against the Falcons, as all 15 players on the roster appeared in the game by halftime, the most that's ever played in a first half under 11th-year head coach Kathy Olivier.
* UNLV has won 14 straight in the all-time series against Air Force, its longest win streak in the series that UNLV leads 43-5.
* The 15-point victory was the largest win margin for UNLV in Colorado Springs since an 86-48 win in the 2011-12 season.
* UNLV's streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer is now at 131 after going 1-of-7 from behind the arc for 14.3%.
NEXT TIME OUT: UNLV will host its Play4Kay Pink Game Saturday when it welcomes San Jose State to the Cox Pavilion for a 3 pm tip. The Lady Rebels will be wearing their pink jerseys for the contest while fans are encouraged to wear pink as well. The first 100 fans will receive a free pink rally towel as well, and breast cancer survivors will be honored during the game.
Tickets for the game are $8, and $6 for seniors and staff, and fans can get $3 off if bought online at UNLVTickets.com at least three hours before the game. There will be both a live video stream and radio broadcast of the contest, available on UNLVRebels.com.
