Thompson’s late shot lifts Lady Rebs to win
Kelli Thompson hit a jumper with two seconds left, lifting the UNLV women’s basketball team to a 68-66 victory over Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday night at Cox Pavilion in the first round of the Duel in the Desert.
The Lady Rebels (5-5) trailed 38-30 at halftime and 45-39 with 13 minutes left before going on a 10-3 run to take a 49-48 lead. The two teams traded the lead several times before UNLV went on a 9-2 run to go up 65-59 with 45 seconds left.
VCU (5-3) followed with a 7-1 spurt to tie it at 66 before Thompson’s game-winning bucket.
Thompson led the Lady Rebels with 22 points, and Erica Helms added 14 points. La’Tavia Rorie paced the Rams with 18 points.
UNLV will meet Hawaii at 7:30 tonight in the second round. Hawaii beat Kansas State 71-61, scoring 49 points in the second half after trailing 36-22 at halftime.