LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Â Senior guard LaTecia Smith buried a short range jumper at the buzzer to give UNLV a thrilling 66-64 victory over in-state rival UNR Wednesday night in Mountain West women's basketball action from the Cox Pavilion. The Lady Rebels survived the UNR's comeback attempt to claim their second straight win, and seventh in the past eight games to improve to 10-9 on the year, and are now tied for third in the Mountain West at 6-2 (along with Boise State). UNLV also took the early advantage in the Silver State Series, the all-sports competition between the two schools sponsored by IBEW and Nevada Donor Network.
The night started in the Wolf Pack's (9-10 overall, 2-6 MW) favor, as UNLV missed its first seven shots and fell behind 8-4 early. The Lady Rebels ended the quarter though on a 8-2 run for a 12-10 advantage, and pushed the lead to double-digits in the second quarter before taking a 31-21 advantage into the halftime break.
UNLV pushed the edge up to 15 in the third, going up 38-23 with 8:20 on the clock. The Lady Rebels then went on another cold stretch from the floor, missing five straight while turning the ball over three times. UNR took advantage, reeling off a 17-1 run for a 40-39 advantage with 3:31 to go in the third.
THE TURNING POINT: UNLV's freshman class stepped up once UNR took the lead, as Anna Blount and Isis Beh scored the team's next seven points, while Justice Ethridge hit a big three near the end of the quarter to give UNLV a 49-44 lead. Though the Wolf Pack would eventually tie the game they would never lead again.
THE FINAL MINUTES: UNLV led 64-60 with 1:50 to play, but missed its next two shots, while Miki'ala Maio scored four straight for UNR, including a layup with six seconds left to tie the game at 64-64. UNLV called timeout and advanced the ball, setting up Smith's game winner as she took advantage of a high screen to get inside the arch before knocking down the shot with 0.2 seconds left.
LADY REBEL OF THE GAME: Smith finished with 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting.Â
STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV, who ranked fifth in the nation coming into Wednesday night in three-point field goal defense, did not allow the Wolf Pack to make a single shot from downtown (0-10).Â
LADY REBEL NOTES
* - Senior Rodjanae Wade did not post a double-double for the first time in Mountain West play, finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds.
* - Playing in the UNLV-UNR rivalry for the first time, Lady Rebel freshman Blount (seven), Beh (eight) and Melanie Isbell (four) combined for 19 points and 13 rebounds.
* - UNLV struggled at the line, hitting just 61.9% (13-of-21), while UNR was a perfect 12-of-12, despite coming in with a season percentage under 70% (69.2).
* - The 43 points by UNR in the second half is the most given up by UNLV this season.
* - UNLV is above .500 for the first time this season.
* - The Lady Rebels are now 21-1 against UNR in Las Vegas, and 37-11 all-time in the series.
* - The win improved the Lady Rebels record to 32-8 at home in MW play over the past five seasons.
NEXT TIME OUT:Â UNLV closes out the first half of the Mountain West schedule with a Saturday afternoon contest at San Diego State. The game will tip off at 1 pm, and can be watched online on the Mountain West Network (UNLVRebels.com).
