Lady Rebels rebound from loss to defeat CSU Fullerton in tourny

Shamela Hampton, shown in the Nov. 21 game against UNR, scored 31 points in the Rebels win against the Titans. File Photo

It’s always hard to bounce back from a loss, but good teams take defeat and use it to motivate them onto victory. The Lady Rebels (4-1) did just that on Saturday as they defeated Cal State Fullerton (2-3) 76-65 in the consolation game of the Lady Rebel Round-up after losing to Eastern Washington on Friday, 70-69 in overtime.

Eastern Washington and UNLV weren’t the only things on fire. The game took a 45-minute delay after a smoke alarm went off in the Cox Pavilion before the game started.

“[The delay] didn’t really affect us at all,” Dominique Harris said. “Coach [Kathy Olivier] took us into the hallway and discussed the game film and really kept us composed.”

The Eagles built on the 15-11 lead that they had at the break and took the lead up to 27-20 by halftime.

The lead periodically rose and fell before the Lady Rebels finally caught the Eagles with 1:03 left in the game.

“Our main focus [in the comeback] was to get steals, come together and start making our shots,” Hampton said.

The Eagles missed a game winning 3-pointer that sent the contest to overtime.

In the extra period, UNLV held the lead for the first three minutes but could not get a strong lead, and EWU took the lead back with 1:48 to go.

The Rebels had a chance to win at the buzzer, but the contested shot was missed, giving the Eagles a trip to the final with Georgia and sending the Rebels to the consolation game against Cal State Fullerton.

UNLV was led by Shamela Hampton and Dominique Harris, who each earned a double-double through the course of the game (31 pts, 10 reb and 16 pts, 11 reb, respectively).

After experiencing defeat Friday, the Rebels looked to Olivier for motivation.

“I told the team that we needed to be the aggressors, and we were the more aggressive team today,” Olivier said.

The Rebels started out slowly against the Titans, going down 10 points through the first eight minutes, but numerous Fullerton fouls allowed the Rebels to stay in the game.

With 6:07 to go in the first half, the momentum finally swung when Harris took a charge that nullified a Fullerton basket to keep the Titans’ lead at five. Fullerton wouldn’t go ahead by more than two possessions for the rest of the game.

Despite trailing 34-28 at the end of a statistically even first half, the Rebels took control of the game from the opening of the second half, amassing a lead as large as 19 points.

“As the game changes, the leadership roles change,” Erica Helms said. “We all work together the whole game and that really helps us.”

Eleven Rebels saw playing time in the game. Jamie Smith led UNLV off of the bench with 30 minutes, during which she had a team-high two blocks as well as two key 3-point baskets, which staved off any Fullerton comeback attempts.

“It was a team effort,” Smith said. “We spread the court, passed the ball around, and that really opened up a lot of opportunities.”

Though pleased with her team’s success, Olivier admitted that the team will need to be better tuned when they make there first road trip of the season, playing the next three games away from the Cox Pavilion.

“We played some road games during the preseason, so we have experience the road before,” Olivier said. “But you can’t play catch-up on the road. You have to go hard from the beginning and not turn the ball over.”