Thursday, March 11, 2004 | 9:50 a.m.
DENVER -- Given they had beaten Brigham Young handily both home and away, you might think the Lady Rebels would consider a 60-57 victory against the Cougars on a neutral court as something of a disappointment.
But when you are fighting to stay alive for an NCAA tournament berth, every victory in March is bubble-licious.
"Whew, that was close," UNLV coach Regina Miller said after the Lady Rebels held off BYU in the last of four Mountain West Conference women's basketball tournament quarterfinals at the Pepsi Center Wednesday to improve their tenuous position on the NCAA bubble ever so slightly.
"But I guess close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."
For much of the second half, it appeared the third-seeded Lady Rebels might need a couple of each to subdue BYU, which entered as a No. 6 seed, uncharacteristically low for a Jeff Judkins-coached team.
UNLV dominated the first half and trailed only once in the second. But the outcome was in doubt until the final three seconds, when BYU's Ambrosia Anderson missed a 3-point shot from the top of the key that would have forced overtime.
It was only then that the Lady Rebels (22-6) exhaled. They'll meet second-seeded Utah, which beat San Diego State 68-51 in Wednesday night's first game, in the second semifinal at 1:30 p.m. Friday. Top-seeded New Mexico will face upstart Wyoming in the first game at 11:30.
"Overall, it was a game of runs," Miller said, noting how the Lady Rebels let an 11-point first half lead slip away Wednesday, only to take it back with a 12-2 spurt midway through the second half after BYU had edged in front, 36-34.
"I thought they tried to take advantage of our lack of size in the post at times ... but I thought we did a nice job sustaining their runs (by going) inside on the offensive end."
That's where the Lady Rebels have buttered their bread all year, but this time somebody new was wielding the knife.
With BYU keeping high-scoring RanDee Henry (15 points) in check with a box-and-one defense and Sherry McCracklin (10 points) and Sheena Moore (12 points), the other members of UNLV's "Big Three," having only average nights, the Lady Rebels needed somebody else to step up.
That somebody was Kameca Simmons, who slashed her way to 17 points, equaling her career high on 7-of-11 shooting in 27 minutes off the bench.
Miller said even more important than Simmons' points were the decisions she made with the basketball.
"She didn't turn the ball over. She didn't rush," Miller said of Simmons, a freshman forward who had scored in double figures only three times before Wednesday.
"I thought she moved well without the ball, particularly out of double teams when BYU doubled up on our post and she just kind of slashed to the basket. She penetrated late in the shot clock, and she either set some people up or made some plays. That's huge for a freshman."
Simmons, who grew up in an athletic family of seven brothers and four sisters, shrugged off her big night.
"I knew coming into this game that I had to execute, that I had to help my team more and do whatever I could to contribute," she said.
In a physical game in which the referees allowed the post players from both teams to beat on each other, Simmons' fresh legs made a huge difference.
After falling behind 29-22 at halftime by missing jump shot after jump shot, Judkins adjusted and had the Cougars dump the ball inside to 6-foot-4 Ashleigh Chamberlain, who made all four of her shots, and 6-2 Danielle Cheesman (12 points). BYU outscored and outmuscled the Lady Rebels 14-5 to start the second half in taking its only lead.
But when Judkins was forced to rest his two big girls, their replacements weren't nearly as effective. The Lady Rebels regained control almost immediately, going ahead by eight at 46-38 with 10:30 to go.
Judkins got Chamberlain and Cheesman back in and BYU, which shot 68 percent in the second half (17-of-25), almost came all the way back again. The Cougars might have pulled the upset if point guard Julie Sullivan, a 68-percent free-throw shooter, hadn't missed two foul shots with 1:50 to go and UNLV ahead by three at 58-55.
"That did hurt us tonight, when those two got tired," Judkins said of Chamberlain and Cheesman. "I brought subs in but we just couldn't get the ball inside and that hurt our offense."
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