Lady Rebels win big in home debut
UNLV women’s basketball coach Kathy Olivier tried to look stoic as she left the Cox Pavilion floor after her team’s home opener Wednesday night, but a slight grin clearly revealed her satisfaction.
The Lady Rebels had just rolled over UC Riverside 64-36 to remain undefeated, giving the coach her third 3-0 start since coming to UNLV in 2008.
Senior forward Lenita Sanford had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Rebels, who opened the second half with a 17-4 scoring run to pull away for good.
“The potential is there,” said Olivier, who said last week that she thought her squad had been underestimated when the Mountain West Conference coaches picked UNLV to finish fifth in the preseason poll. “If we keep having the leadership we’ve had, the sky’s the limit.”
Sanford, whose team held an opponent under 40 points for the second time this season, said UNLV is attempting to make a statement about the weeks to come.
“I think everybody has been underestimating us,” said Sanford, who scored UNLV’s first eight second-half points. “I think we can be a top-25 team.”
The Lady Rebels jumped ahead early, grabbing a 12-2 lead when junior point guard Mia Bell drove to the basket for a layup with 16:18 remaining in the first half.
But the Highlanders (0-3) battled back by holding UNLV scoreless for nearly five minutes. They tied the score at 12 when Jessica Ogunnorin capped a 10-0 run with a layup at the 10:05 mark.
The rally appeared to suck energy from UC Riverside, however, and the Lady Rebels re-established the tempo with a 13-3 run. UNLV led 27-22 at halftime, but Olivier was not satisfied.
“We just told them we needed to play with more intensity in the second half,” said Olivier, whose squad forced 23 turnovers. “We got into them, and they really responded.”
UNLV put the game away with efficient second-half free-throw shooting, at one point scoring 12 consecutive points from the foul line. That allowed Olivier to unload her bench with about six minutes to go.
Kelli Thompson added 12 points for the Lady Rebels, who next host San Jose State at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Natasha Hadley and TreShont Nottingham each scored eight points to lead the Highlanders, who had just five field goals in the second half.