Lady Rebels quell big rally to beat Northern Arizona
The UNLV women's basketball team surrendered most of a 21-point second-half lead before holding on for a 60-58 victory over Northern Arizona on Tuesday night at Cox Pavilion.
UNLV (7-6) rumbled to a 40-25 advantage by halftime, then scored the first six points of the second half to stretch the lead to 21. The Lumberjacks nearly came all the way back, with Lauren Hoisington missing a jumper and a follow attempt in the final seconds.
The Lady Rebels had their lead pared to single digits on a couple of occasions, then went up 58-48 on a Sandrine Nzeukou jumper with 4:34 remaining.
Northern Arizona (2-11) outscored UNLV 10-2 the rest of the way, with Erica Helms getting the Lady Rebels' final points, on a layup that put them up 60-53 with 51 seconds to go.
NAU got a Hoisington layup, and after a missed UNLV free throw, Amy Patton hit a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to pull the Lumberjacks within 60-58. Hoisington then missed her final two shots, after two missed UNLV free throws.
Helms led UNLV with 14 points, Kelli Thompson added 13 points and nine rebounds, and Jamie Smith had 12 points and 13 rebounds. Hoisington led NAU with 13 points.
