Lady Rebels race past San Jose State, go to 4-0 for first time since 2001-02
The UNLV women's basketball team had two big first-half runs, putting away San Jose State early in a 78-41 victory Saturday at Cox Pavilion.
UNLV scored the first 15 points of the game and later went on a 26-3 tear to take a 43-10 lead late in the first half. The Lady Rebels expanded the lead to 42 in the second half and improved to 4-0 for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
Lenita Sanford paced UNLV with 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Sandrine Nzeukou scored 12 points, Kelli Thompson had 11 points and eight assists, and Jamie Smith had 10 points and eight rebounds. The Lady Rebels shot 40.6 percent and held the Spartans (0-3) to 23.2 percent shooting.
UNLV also finished with 12 steals and 10 blocks.
San Jose State didn't score in the first five minutes, then made a 7-2 run to pull within 17-7. UNLV answered by scoring the next 15 points, part of its game-breaking 26-3 run.
An 8-1 run early in the second half put UNLV up 55-20, and the Lady Rebels took their biggest lead at 77-35 on a Thompson 3-pointer with 1:31 remaining.
The Lady Rebels next play as part of a doubleheader with the UNLV men's team at the Thomas & Mack Center. The women will face Texas-San Antonio at 5 p.m. Tuesday, followed by the men against Cal Poly at 7:30.
