Women's Basketball Falls Short at UNLV
Women's Basketball / December 29, 2009
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Northern
Arizona women's basketball cut a 15-point halftime deficit
down to two points, but were unable to tie the game in the final
seconds as the Lumberjacks lost 60-58 to UNLV on Tuesday at the Cox
Pavilion. NAU (2-11) trailed by as many as 21 points in the second
half before mounting their comeback try.
Down 46-25 with 17:28 left in the
game, the Lumberjacks went on an 18-4 run to cut the UNLV (7-6)
lead to seven with 8:34 remaining. The women would further cut the
lead down to five over the next seven minutes.
With under a minute to play freshman guard Amy Patton hit a
three-point shot to make it a one-possession game. UNLV's Mia
Bell missed two free throws and the Lumberjacks had a shot for the
win but could not convert.
The Lumberjacks limited UNLV to just 20 second half points and
closed the game on a 10-2 run.
“We did everything we needed to do to win the game except
make shots,” head coach Laurie Kelly said. “We had
great looks that did not go in. We did so many good things in this
game. In the end, it came down to missed shots.”
Junior forward Lauren Hoisington, a Las Vegas, Nev., native,
turned in a solid homecoming performance with a team-high 13 points
on 5-of-12 shooting. She was a perfect 3-of-3 at the free-throw
line and added four rebounds.
The Lumberjacks continued to rebound well on the offensive glass
as NAU totaled 26 offensive rebounds compared to UNLV's 13.
Freshman guard Tyler Stephens-Jenkins recorded her first career
double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds including eight
offensive rebounds. Sophomore forward Katie Pratt came off the
bench and totaled 11 rebounds with seven on the offensive end.
“I very much believe in this team and do not think our
record is indicative of what our team can be,” said Kelly.
“We need to get in the gym and shoot the ball and work on our
game. We are four days away from tipping off in Big Sky play and
then everyone is back to 0-0.”
The Lumberjacks will open Big Sky Conference play at Northern
Colorado on Saturday, January 2 at 7:05 p.m.
