LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV was knocked out of the Mountain West Women's Basketball Tournament for the third time in the past four years by Fresno State Monday afternoon, as the Bulldogs claimed a 66-55 victory in a quarterfinal contest at the Thomas & Mack Center. Poor free throw shooting and too many turnovers were the biggest factors in the loss for the Lady Rebels, who saw their season ended at 12-18. Fresno State improved to 19-11 meanwhile and advanced to the semifinal round on Tuesday.

Fresno State used a series to runs to take control early in the game. After UNLV opened with a 6-2 advantage, the Bulldogs scored the next 13 points over a six-minute span. A 9-0 in the second quarter pushed the edge to 12, and another run of nine straight points from the final basket of the first half and the beginning of the third quarter gave the fourth-seeded Bulldogs a 29-36 advantage.

The lead grew to as high as 18 in the beginning of the fourth quarter, before UNLV made a run to close within single digits. A 10-3 spurt, keyed by a pair of three-pointers, cut the Lady Rebel deficit to 11 at 58-47. After Fresno State pushed the edge back to 15, UNLV scored six unanswered to make it a nine-point game, 62-53 with just under two minutes to go, but could only manage a pair of free throws the rest of the game.

STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV made just 11-of-20 attempts at the free throw line. That included a 4-11 performance in the first half when it trailed by six points at halftime. The Lady Rebels also turned the ball over 10 more times then Fresno State (22-12), which led to a 19-11 advantage for the Bulldogs on points off turnovers.

LADY REBEL OF THE GAME: Senior Katie Powell was the only Lady Rebel in double-figures with 17 points, including 14 in the first half. She added six points as well in 26 minutes of action, despite still in recovering mode from a sprained ankle at Boise State on March 2.

LADY REBEL NOTES: 

* UNLV was held to 37.3% (19-of-51) from the floor, but did hit six three-pointers out of 13 attempts.

* The Lady Rebels limited Fresno to just four three-pointers in 21 attempts. The Bulldogs though made 23-of-36 attempts inside the arc.

* Senior point guard Nikki Wheatley, in her last game as a Lady Rebel, finished with seven points, five rebounds and a season-high six assists. It was the 127th start of her career as well, tying her for second-most all-time in UNLV history.

* Powell's 17 points moved her into 25th place all-time at UNLV with 1,022 points, passing Erica Helms (2008-11). In her career she finished with 1,082 points, including 60 scored as a freshman at Arkansas.

* One positive for UNLV was its bench play, as it outscored Fresno State 19-8. That was led by seven points from senior Alyssa Anderson and a five-point, eight-rebound game from Rodjanae Wade, the MW 6th Player of the Year.