Lady Rebels sloppy but coast to victory

UNLV tried and tried but couldn't pull away from Air Force.

At least not until Mia Bell took charge and made three straight driving layups to give Lady Rebels basketball fans what they really wanted -- free tacos.

A big cheer went up from the crowd Saturday at Cox Pavilion when Bell's third layup put UNLV past the critical 49-point mark to trigger the school's promotion, but more important the basket put the Lady Rebels well on their way to a 63-47 victory.

They pushed their winning streak to four games, and the Lady Rebels have won seven of eight. UNLV (17-5) is one victory from matching its highest win total since 2005-06. Its 5-1 league record ties the 2003-04 season for the school's best start in Mountain West play.

The Lady Rebels, though, had to overcome 38.7 percent shooting in the second half and 24 turnovers for the game against Air Force (5-16, 0-6).

"I don't want to go backward," UNLV coach Kathy Olivier said. "I thought we took a couple of steps back today."

Four players scored in double figures for the Lady Rebels, with Bell and Kelli Thompson leading with 11 points apiece and Jamie Smith and Alana Cesarz each finishing with 10. Smith also had 12 rebounds, the 33rd double-double of the senior's career.

UNLV ran its all-time record against Air Force in Las Vegas to 16-0. All but one victory was by double digits.

This game looked for a long time as if it might be the second to end in a single-digit win -- or perhaps a staggering loss -- with UNLV going 9:45 between field goals in the second half and still never losing the lead.

But it was a slim advantage at 40-35 when Bell's pass to Markiell Styles for a basket with 8:06 left ended that field-goal drought.

Bell soon did the scoring herself, those three layups turning a 44-35 lead into a 50-37 cushion with 5:46 remaining.

"I missed a couple of easy shots earlier in the game, but I just kept playing hard," Bell said. "I wasn't thinking about offense. I just played hard on defense and tried to let everything else come to me, and it did."

Bell's aggressiveness was part of UNLV's strategy of going right at Air Force. Clinging to a 37-33 advantage with 12:51 left, Olivier called timeout and instructed her team to go strong, causing Air Force to pick up five fouls in a three-minute stretch.

"We picked up the intensity after that one timeout," Olivier said.

In the first half, Thompson carried a mistake-prone UNLV, scoring nine points as the Lady Rebels took a 31-22 halftime lead.

She wasn't much of a factor in the second 20 minutes, with Air Force throwing a box-and-one at Thompson and daring others to produce.

"My teammates stepped up," Thompson said. "If they're going to play me (tough), that's OK. I have no problem. I love when (my teammates) take over."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.