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LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV held off a late San Jose State rally while junior Rodjanae Wade posted a career-best game off the bench to lead the Lady Rebels past San Jose State 74-70 Saturday afternoon in Mountain West women's basketball action at the Cox Pavilion. With its second straight victory, UNLV moves to 7-6 in Mountain West play, 9-15 overall, and remain alone in fifth place in the league standings.
The Lady Rebels looked to have the game in hand with a 71-59 advantage with just 2:48 to play. However, the Spartans drained back-to-back treys, and then on a play in which Nikki Wheatley was fouled, she was also called for an unsportsmanlike foul with 1:36 left. That gave the ball back to the Spartans, and they would hit three of four free throws on the possession to close within 71-68. A short jumper by the Spartans with 18 seconds to go made it a two-point game, but then SJSU was called for an unsportsmanlike foul after Wheatley was grabbed and thrown down to the ground. Alyssa Anderson made two free throws for UNLV, and Wheatley made one-of-two for a four-point UNLV lead with nine seconds on the clock. SJSU's final shot was off the mark to give UNLV the four-point win.
UNLV raced out to a 12-point first quarter lead, before the Spartans hit four treys to close within two at the end of the quarter. It was a 44-37 halftime lead for the Lady Rebels, and 59-51 after the end of the third.
STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV held a 46-34 advantage on the boards, and a 17-2 edge on second chance points.
LADY REBEL OF THE GAME:
Wade posted new career-highs in points (20) and rebounds (14) while picking up her third career double-double. She finished 7-of-14 from the floor, and scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half.
QUOTABLE: "Today showed we have a lot of depth on this team, that's why we're successful right now, we have a lot of people stepping up. SJSU hit several threes that kept them in the game, but we were able to close out with some good defensive possessions and made our free throws when we needed to. Still some things to work on. It was nice to see RJ have the best offensive game of her career and she was also very active on defense."
- UNLV head coach Kathy Olivier
LADY REBEL NOTES:
* UNLV lead for 34 minutes of the contest, while the Spartans held the lead for just 2:50, all in the second quarter.
* After starting out shooting 56.3% (9-of-16) in the first quarter, the Lady Rebels struggled the rest of the way, finishing at 37.9% (25-of-66). They did shoot above their season average at the free throw line, making 19-of-27 for 70.4%.
* Wheatley posted 15 points and eight rebounds, while Katie Powell also recorded double-figures with 12 points.
* Wheatley grabbed one steal in the game to give her 200 in her career, which ranks ninth all-time at UNLV.
* Wheatley recorded her 112th career start as a Lady Rebel, ranking her fourth all-time. She had come into the day tied fourth with Linda Frohlich (1998-02).
* UNLV is now 2-5 in games decided by five points or less. The Lady Rebels won for just the second time this season when allowing more then 60 points.
* UNLV's streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer is now at 132 after going 5-of-20 from behind the arc for 20.0%. Leading the way was sophomore guard Bailey Thomas, who hit a career-high three treys in the first six minutes of the game, which also gave her a new career-high in points (nine).
NEXT TIME OUT:
UNLV will play a second straight home game Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 6 pm when it welcomes the Wyoming Cowgirls to Cox Pavilion.
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.
