Lady Cougars beat Lady Rebels

February 8, 2010 by Sean Jaramillo 

The Lady Rebels were tied 40-40 with the BYU Lady Cougars, but a 19-4 second half run put UNLV away, as they lost 76-60.

UNLV never got the lead inside of 15 points again after the run.

While the biggest statistical difference in the first matchup with BYU was turnovers, the largest gaps on Saturday were three-point shooting and bench scoring.

BYU made 11 three-point baskets, four of which came during the run, as opposed to six on UNLV’s side.

The Lady Rebels also lost the battle of the benches, 25 points to 10.

UNLV led for much of the first half, holding a seven-point advantage with eight minutes to go in the period. BYU then went on a 14-2 run over the next four minutes and 18 seconds to go ahead 28-23.

The score was 33-27 with less than five seconds in the half before Kelli Thompson made an off-balance three-pointer to cut the lead in half.

Leading UNLV statistically was Erica Helms, who recorded 19 points on the game. Thompson added 14 and the freshman tandem of Sandrine Nzeukou and Markiell Styles added 10 each.

Sophomore forward Jamie Smith had a game-high 12 rebounds to go with her seven points.

Haley Hall of BYU led all scorers with 22 and Mindy Bonham tacked on 13 of her own.

Jazmine Foreman had the game’s only double-double with 11 points and 11 assists. Alexis Kaufusi led the Cougar bench with 11 points.

The loss drops the Lady Rebels to 3-6 in Mountain West Conference play and 10-13 overall. BYU advanced to 15-6 overall with a 6-3 MWC record.

UNLV’s next game is also on the road, as they take on New Mexico on Wednesday.