UNLV WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SHOT DOWN BY WYOMING 82-56
Lady Rebels held to 15 field goals over final 36 minutes of the game.
UNLV was held to 32.8% shooting and outscored by a 22-6 margin on points off turnovers, leading to an 82-56 loss at Wyoming on Saturday afternoon in Mountain West women’s basketball action from Arena Auditorium. The Lady Rebels fell to 9-14 overall, and 6-5 in MW play with the setback, while the Cowgirls improved to 15-6, and 6-4 in the league.
UNLV was the team hot on offense at the start, knocking down five of its first seven shots while opening up an 11-7 edge four minutes into the game. Offensive rebounds by the home team sparked a run though, with the Cowgirls going on an 15-2 run over a 5:25 span. UNLV missed eight of nine shots during that stretch and turned the ball over three times. Wyoming meanwhile made all six of its shots from the floor during the run, several of which were layups in transition off defensive rebounds.
Five unanswered from UNLV closed the edge to 25-20 with 9:25 on the clock after Danielle Miller hit one of two at the line. Wyoming quickly took control with an 8-0 burst that included back-to-back treys to open up a 33-20 advantage with 6:27 to play in the half. The lead stayed at double-digits for the rest of the year, with the halftime score 43-31 in favor of the Cowgirls.
UNLV held Wyoming scoreless for the first 2:23 of the second half, and scored the first points out of the break on a Miller jumper to close within 19:33. The Lady Rebels then missed shots on its next two possessions, and Wyoming posted a 6-0 to push the edge to 49-33.
Following a three-point play from Alana Cesarz to make the score 65-47 with 6:41 on the clock, Wyoming scored 16 of the next 19 points, taking its largest lead of the afternoon at 81-50 with 2:49 to play.
Cesarz led the Lady Rebels with 16 points, while Mia Bell added 10 points. Aley Rohde posted five points and nine rebounds. UNLV finished the game shooting 20-of-61 from the floor for 32.8%, was 3-of-15 from behind the three-point line for 20%, and 13-of-23 at the charity stripe for 56.5%. The Lady Rebels did hold a 44-39 edge on the boards, but turned the ball over 17 times, while forcing only 11 by the Cowgirls.
Wyoming had three in double-figures, led by Marquelle Dent’s 18 points. Kaitlyn Mileto was next with 16, and Fallon Lewis had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Cowgirls shot 47.3% (26-of-55) from the field, 9-of-20 from downtown for 45%, and 21-of-31 at the line for 67.7%.
The Lady Rebels are off until next Saturday, Feb. 15, when they host Utah State at 4 pm in the Cox Pavilion. That is also National Girls and Women in Sport Day at UNLV, and an all-sports clinic will be held prior to the game, more information is available at UNLVRebels.com.
