Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
2-12, 0-1
UNLV
5-9, 1-0
Rams' comeback bid falls short at UNLV
1/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2008
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Colorado State women's basketball team (2-12, 0-1 MWC) battled to overcome a 13-point second half deficit, closed the game on an 18-7 run, and held the lead, 53-52, with three minutes remaining in the game. However the Rams' effort fell just short on Wednesday night at UNLV (5-9, 1-0 MWC) as Sara Hunter's desperation jumper missed the mark while the senior guard fell out of bounds on the far baseline as time expired. UNLV escaped with a 57-55 victory in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.
"I'm very proud of the way our team played tonight. I thought that we fought and I thought that we held composure," said Head Coach Jen Warden. "They have a sense of fortitude and resilience that numbers will not discourage them from."
The Rams trailed 50-37 with 9:10 remaining in the game which seemed to be slipping away, but the CSU defense tightened and the offense mounted a 13-0 run that included one basket from five different players - layups from Juanise Cornell and Carine Reimink, and 3-pointers off the hands of Bonnie Barbee, Emily Neal and Kandy Beemer - to tie the game at 50 with 5:41 to play.
"We knew that if we played hard, we would be able to stay with them," said Neal following the game. "We just stuck together as a team and really battled until the end. We came in 0-0 with a new start in this tough conference. We know that we can play with some of the great players in this league."
UNLV's Brittany Halberg snapped the Rams' run with a layup at the 5:06 mark, but the Rams answered with three straight from the free-throw line to recapture the lead, 53-52, at the 3:00 mark. Neal, sank one-of-two from the charity stripe to cut the Lady Rebels' lead to one, and Cornell hit a pair to give the Rams the advantage.
Halberg and Shamela Hampton answered with a pair of free throws each to give UNLV a 56-53 lead with 1:29 left. The Rams did not quit, and Barbee passed to Cornell, who had slipped behind her defender on the low block to convert the layup and head to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game at 56. Cornell was unable to convert from the line, putting the stamp on a 5-for-15 free-throw shooting performance by the Rams. Despite three consecutive timeouts called by head coach Jen Warden, UNLV's Shannon Oberg hit her first to give the Rebels a two-point advantage. Oberg's second attempt rimmed out and Hunter raced up court but was unable to hit the jumper at the buzzer.
Colorado State led for much of the first half thanks to a cold-shooting start by UNLV.
The Rams opened the half with a pair of field goals from Hunter and Cornell to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Following a 3-pointer by Hunter at the 15:23 mark, Colorado State enjoyed a 7-3 advantage, holding the Lady Rebels to just 1-for-6 shooting to begin the game.
UNLV regained the lead, 11-7 at the 11:07 mark, with a 8-0 run that was snapped by a 3-pointer from freshman forward Lauren Young. Young's trey sparked a 13-1 Rams' run and gave CSU a 20-12 advantage with just less than six minutes remaining in the first half.
However, UNLV closed the half on a 16-2 run of their take a 28-22 lead into halftime. UNLV senior Sequoia Holmes, the MWC's leading scorer, bounced back from a slow start to score six during that Lady Rebels' run. Holmes led all scorers in the game with 13 points, but was held well below her 20.7 points per game average. Halberg added 12 points for UNLV, including nine of the team's final.
The Rams used a balanced scoring attack, led by Hunter's 11 points. Cornell added 10 points and seven rebounds, bouncing back from first half foul trouble. Beemer and Neal added nine and eight points, respectively, and Barbee tied a career best with six points. Several players, including Barbee and Amaka Uzomah - who scored her first career points at Colorado State - provided a spark for the Rams, who used all 12 players available for just the fourth time this season.
Overall, the rams outshot the rebels 38.9 percent to 35.8 percent, including a huge advantage from beyond the arc. Colorado State was 8-for-22 from long range in the contest, while holding UNLV two 2-for-16 shooting from 3-point range. However, the Lady Rebels sealed the victory at the free-throw line, hitting 17-of-19 (89.5 percent) compared with a 5-for-15 performance by the Rams from the charity stripe.
The Rams will return to Fort Collins to begin preparations for Saturday's matchup with the BYU Cougars, who will be opening their conference slate at Moby Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. MT.
