Lady Rebels edge Northeastern in tourney semifinal
The UNLV women's basketball team clamped down on defense late to beat Northeastern 61-58 to open the Lady Rebel Round-Up on Saturday at Cox Pavilion.
In today's final, the Lady Rebels will face No. 21 Georgetown (4-2), which beat No. 10 Georgia, 64-56.
UNLV, 6-0 for the first time since the 1990-91 season, held Northeastern scoreless for the final 3:19. With the score tied at 58, the Lady Rebels forced three turnovers and allowed only one more shot.
Markiell Styles scored to put UNLV up 60-58 with 2:48 left, and the Lady Rebels held on despite missing four of five free throws down the stretch.
The Lady Rebels went on an 18-2 run from late in the first half through the first minute of the second half, turning a 21-16 deficit into a 34-23 lead. UNLV stretched the lead to as much as 13 and led 53-42 with 6:53 remaining.
But the Huskies scored the next 10 points, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Christine Huber and Dani Iervolino, to get within 53-52.
Styles led UNLV with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Kelli Thompson added 12 points. Jamie Smith had 14 rebounds and eight points.
Jewel Tunstull led Northeastern (0-5) with 15 points.
Georgia (4-1) meets Northeastern at 1 p.m. today, followed by UNLV-Georgetown at 3:30.
