Lady Rebels rebound to edge Aztecs

If there was one basketball team UNLV didn't want to fall behind, it was San Diego State.

The Aztecs won all three meetings last season, and they scorched the Lady Rebels for a 29-point victory a month ago.

So when San Diego State scored the first 10 points Saturday and later went up by 16, it appeared the Lady Rebels' challenge would be to make the final score respectable. They did more than that, putting together key first- and second-half runs for a stunning 66-59 victory before 1,634 fans, the second-largest UNLV women's basketball crowd at Cox Pavilion.

"We weren't going to panic," said guard India Chaney, who led UNLV with 16 points. "We kept poised the whole game and kept on chipping away and kept going."

UNLV (12-13, 5-6 Mountain West Conference) has won four of five games. The Lady Rebels will host Utah on Wednesday.

Against San Diego State (14-9, 6-5), they fell behind 10-0 and 23-7 before turning to their defense to get back into the game. UNLV forced 26 turnovers, scoring 22 points off them.

"What we talked about is we're going to have our defense generate our offense," Lady Rebels coach Kathy Olivier said. "They're a very good defensive team, so we said if it turns into a defensive battle, that will be great."

The Lady Rebels -- who wore pink uniforms to raise breast cancer awareness -- made their first big move while down 25-11, scoring 15 straight points to take a 26-25 lead in the final minute of the first half. San Diego State led 27-26 at halftime.

"I didn't want the first half to end because we were on a roll," said UNLV forward Jamie Smith, who had 14 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high eight steals. "Sometimes when you have to take a break for halftime, it's hard to get back on that roll."

But UNLV did midway through the second half. Chaney made three bank shots in a row to keep the Lady Rebels close and help spark a 17-3 run for a 56-46 lead with 5:10 left.

"We won that game by just grinding it out," Olivier said.

UNLV point guard Erica Helms, who scored 12 points, injured her left ankle in the second half. She returned but wore a boot afterward. The severity of the injury is unknown.

Center Paris Johnson had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Aztecs, who committed 28 fouls and had three players foul out in the final 34.7 seconds.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.