Lady Rebels show resolve in win over New Mexico

UNLV's women's basketball team walked into Cox Pavilion on Saturday to face an opponent that won the teams' prior meeting by 26 points and was ranked No. 23 two weeks ago.

The Lady Rebels also carried no momentum into the rematch, limping home from Wednesday's 25-point defeat at San Diego State.

So it was no surprise when New Mexico pulled ahead by 10 points early in the second half. But this time the Lady Rebels refused to fold, holding the Lobos to 20.7 percent shooting in the second half to rally for a 57-51 victory -- easily their biggest under first-year coach Kathy Olivier.

"I felt like we battled," Olivier said. "I never felt we looked defeated even when we were down by 10. When we do that, we can play with anybody because we have good athletes."

This victory was a strong way to begin the second half of Mountain West Conference play. The Lady Rebels (10-12, 3-6 MWC) denied coach Don Flanagan his 300th career victory at New Mexico (16-6, 5-4).

"We kept our poise, and Coach was like, 'We got this. We got this,' " said UNLV center Shamela Hampton, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds. "So we listened to her and had confidence."

In practice last week, Olivier put her team in game situations, including from the foul line. Her players responded when it mattered, with Hampton's two free throws with 1:54 to play giving UNLV the lead for good, 53-51. Jamie Smith's foul shots with 56.6 seconds to go extended the lead to four.

The Lady Rebels put themselves in position to win with rebounding and defense.

Smith struggled with her outside shooting, so she drove hard inside. All seven of her offensive rebounds came in the second half, and she had 17 rebounds total. Her rebound after Hampton's missed free throw with 32.1 seconds remaining was a backbreaker.

"I even had an airball, so at that point I was feeling pretty down," said Smith, who scored 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting. "So once I did that, I was like maybe I just won't even shoot anymore. I'll just get offensive rebounds and make up for it in other areas."

UNLV also wouldn't let Lobos guard Amy Beggin settle in, using the combination of traps and Erica Helms' defense to push her outside.

Beggin scored 15 points to nearly hit her 15.5 average, but she shot 5-for-13, including 0-for-6 from the 3-point line.

"I thought she never got comfortable," Olivier said. "I thought the team did a great job keeping her off balance."

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