Bell lives up to clutch rep with Lady Rebels

The Lady Rebels have banked on junior point guard Mia Bell with the game on the line all season.

In UNLV's nonconference finale, Bell banked in her third winning shot, lifting the Lady Rebels to a 73-71 comeback victory over Fresno State on Friday night at Cox Pavilion.

With the game tied at 70 and the shot clock dwindling, the Durango High School product drove hard to the basket before sinking a short pull-up with 34 seconds left to put UNLV (12-4) ahead to stay.

"I just wanted to get to the rim. I was either going to get a shot off or get fouled," Bell said. "It's something I practice a lot."

After Kelli Thompson's free throw with five seconds left pushed UNLV's lead to 73-70, Fresno State's Madison Parrish was fouled on a tying 3-point attempt with 0.4 seconds left. She missed the first two free throws for the Bulldogs (11-4), who will move to the Mountain West Conference from the Western Athletic Conference next season.

The Lady Rebels, who trailed by 11 in the second half, surpassed last season's win total, and the victory should provide a boost heading into Wednesday's conference opener at Wyoming.

"Who knows? This might be our year," coach Kathy Olivier said. "We have 12 wins. That's amazing.

"I just think this team believes in what we're doing and we have really good chemistry, with different people stepping up at different times."

All five starters scored in double figures for the Lady Rebels, who trailed 41-33 at halftime but outscored Fresno State 40-30 in the second half.

Thompson led all scorers with 19 points, Jamie Smith had 15, Bell had 14, Lenita Sanford had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Sandrine Nzeukou supplied 10 points and nine rebounds.

Smith also pulled down six rebounds to become the Mountain West's all-time leader with 1,018.

Ki-Ki Moore scored 18 points and Parrish 17 for the Bulldogs, who sank 13 of 29 3-pointers.

"We didn't match up, but we stayed together and got the win," Thompson said.

Thompson left the game with cramps in her calves with 3:41 left before returning with 1:09 remaining and making 1 of 4 free throws the rest of the way.

"My calves cramped up and I really couldn't do much," said Thompson, who had made her first six free throws. "I couldn't get my legs under me those last few free throws, but we fought the whole way and stayed together when things weren't going our way."

Thompson said chemistry has keyed the team's turnaround, and Bell agrees.

"We just love each other. We're out there playing for each other, not just for ourselves," said Bell, who sank a buzzer-beater in UNLV's win at UC-Santa Barbara and a go-ahead 3-pointer in its victory over Kansas State. "We're playing for the four letters on our chests: UNLV. That's the big difference."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.