In a low scoring contest, a shorthanded UNLV squad played the Boise State tough for the first three quarters before the Broncos pulled away in the fourth for a 53-38 win over the Lady Rebels Saturday afternoon in Mountain West women's basketball action from Taco Bell Arena. UNLV dropped to 11-17 overall, 9-8 in league play, while BSU remained perfect at home in MW play to improve to 23-4 for the year and a league-best 14-2 conference mark.
Both defenses were on point to start the game, as UNLV finished the first quarter hitting just 20% (3-of-15) while Boise State was not much better at 23.5% (4-of-17). The Broncos did hold a 11-10 lead after the first 10 minutes.
THE TURNING POINT: It was a 15-12 lead for the home team when they missed a shot and UNLV senior center Katie Powell, the team's leading scorer, turned her right ankle going for the rebound at the 7:36 mark of the second quarter. She would leave the game and not return. Boise State took advantage of her absence by scoring nine of the game's next 10 points for a 24-13 lead with 4:29 to play. UNLV made a small run to close within five, until Riley Lupfer drained a trey at the 31 second mark for an eight-point lead.
THE FOURTH QUARTER: UNLV closed the edge to six points twice in the third quarter. Boise State opened the final quarter on a 5-0 run and led by double-digits the rest of the game.
STAT OF THE GAME: After Powell left the game, UNLV was down its starting frontcourt as senior forward Paris Strawther was already sitting out the game to a one-game suspension from the conference. In addition, starting point guard Nikki Wheatley was limited to just 19 minutes, including only 40 seconds in the final quarter due to knee issues.
QUOTABLE: "I thought our other players stepped up and made things happen after we had three starters out for most of the game tonight. Defensively we did a good job kept them way belong their average. We gave up too many offensive boards though. Offensively we didn't execute as well as we would have liked to, maybe if we did a better job on that we would have made more baskets today." - UNLV head coach Kathy Olivier
LADY REBEL NOTES:
* UNLV was held to a season-low tying 38 points. The Lady Rebels also held Boise State to its second-lowest score of the season (low was 52 in a loss at Wyoming).
* For the second time this season, UNLV did not have a player finish in double-figures for points.
* UNLV was led by Wheatley's seven points, while the leading rebounder was Rodjanae Wade with six points and 12 rebounds.
* UNLV's streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer was snapped at 135, as it finished 0-of-7 from behind the arc.
* The Lady Rebels shot 26.1% (12-of-46) for the game, while the Broncos finished 15-of-57 for 26.3%.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Lady Rebels host Colorado State Thursday on Senior Night for six UNLV seniors. The game will tip off at 6 pm, and is the regular season finale for both teams.
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 of the contest available on UNLVRebels.com, while the radio call will be heard of KBAD The Game 920 AM.
