LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) -  UNLV and Colorado State battled back and forth for the first three quarters, until the Lady Rebels went cold in the fourth, going on an almost eight-minute span without a field goal on the way to a 67-58 setback to the Rams Saturday afternoon in Mountain West women's basketball action from the Cox Pavilion. The teams end their season series with a split, as UNLV dropped to 4-5 overall, 2-2 in league play while CSU moved to 8-2 overall, 4-2 in the MW.

UNLV trailed the majority of the first quarter, until Keyana Wilfred scored seven points over a three-minute span to give the Lady Rebels a 17-16 edge. CSU would end the quarter with a 21-17 advantage and scored the first basket of the second. UNLV answered with an 11-0 spurt, and would take its largest lead of the game, 28-23, off a three-pointer from Jade Thomas. The Rams responded with their own run, outscoring UNLV 15-4 to end the half for a 38-32 advantage. 

THE TURNING POINT: It was a three-point game entering the fourth when Desi-Rae Young scored inside to make it a 52-51 game at the 9:33 mark. UNLV then went stone cold from the field, missing its next 12 shoots from the floor. Though the Rams only made four field goals themselves over that eight-minute span, it was enough to extend the lead to eight points with three minutes to play at 61-53. 

STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV shot 3-of-17 from the floor for 17.6%, and 1-of-6 from three-point range (16.7%) in the fourth quarter, while the Rams made 6-of-16 (40%) and 2-of-5 from three-point land (40%). CSU also outrebounded UNLV 45-42, after losing the battle by 13 in the first meeting on Jan. 7.

QUOTEABLE: "Hard fought battle. We knew they were going to come in here and bring it, and unfortunately I think we were a little sluggish and a little tired. That's not an excuse though, they played harder, they wanted it more, they were after more 50-50 balls. We missed layups, came up short on shots, so we just have to adjust and fix it. Our defense wasn't bad today, we just couldn't score when we needed to. Disappointing but that's how it went so we just have to learn from it, we've got New Mexico coming in next week so now we have time to get ready to prepare for them." - UNLV head coach Lindy La Rocque

LADY REBEL NOTES

* - Wilfred's 15-points off the bench paced the Lady Rebels in scoring.

* - Also in double-figures was Bailey Thomas with 12, while Delaynie Byrne and Nia Johnson both finished with 10 each.

* - Jasmine Singleton had a strong game off the bench for UNLV, with seven rebounds and six assists, both new career-highs.

* - The game featured 11 lead changes and two ties.

* - Neither team spent much time at the line, as UNLV was 4-of-9 while CSU attempted only four free throws (three makes).

NEXT TIME OUT: UNLV will host the New Mexico Lobos in a two-game series on Friday, Jan. 15 and Sunday, Jan. 17 in the Cox Pavilion. Tip time will be at 2 pm for both games.