Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Lady Rebels survive in postseason play

For 39 minutes, 22 seconds, the player who figures to be a big part of the Lady Rebels' future figuratively carried the team between the double zeroes on her back during Sunday afternoon's Women's National Invitation Tournament second-round game against Rice.

But the final 38 seconds belonged to a player whose future is now.

Still.

Sophomore guard Sheena Moore scored a career-high 33 points to help rally the Lady Rebels from a 12-point deficit, but it was senior guard InFini Robinson who made three big plays in the final minute as UNLV advanced to the third round of the NCAA's consolation tournament, 68-66.

The Lady Rebels (24-7) will play Western Kentucky beginning at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Cox Pavilion. Western Kentucky outlasted Memphis 104-87 Sunday.

"All we need is a ball and a rim," Robinson said, asked if she had a preference about when and where the Lady Rebels would play before she learned the Hilltoppers would be coming here.

Of course, another huge effort from Moore wouldn't hurt Robinson's chances of further prolonging her playing career. Moore made 10-of-17 shots from the field and 11-of-14 from the free-throw line but ironically, it was a rebound and subsequent pass she made to Robinson with time running down that might have been the game's biggest plays.

The Lady Rebels trailed 63-62 when Moore pulled down Lauren Neaves' miss with 1:30 to play. UNLV worked the ball around the perimeter before Moore found Robinson, her backcourt mate, curling inside the lane, about 10 feet from the basket.

Robinson knocked down the jump shot for a 64-63 Lady Rebels lead with 38 seconds to play. Then, when Rice's Rosyland Jeffries misfired on a jump shot from the left baseline on the Lady Owls' next possession, Robinson got rebounding position on the taller Rice front line and was fouled with 14 seconds remaining.

She sank both free throws for a 66-63 UNLV edge. Lindsey Maynard's 3-point shot that would have tied the game was way short, with Randee Henry rebounding that miss and hitting two free throws after she was fouled.

Latrice Elder fired in a long 3-pointer at the horn to account for the final score.

"Sheena had a great game, and the way she was pulling defenders ... that made it a little easier for her to get me the ball," Robinson said of her clutch basket. "I shot it with confidence."

Added Moore: "That was the play. Coach wanted to look for the post but if that wasn't open, to look for her (Robinson) curling up."

But most of the plays until that point were designed for Moore or to a slightly lesser extent, forwards RanDee Henry and Sherry McCracklin, the other members of the Lady Rebels "Big Three."

Henry finished with 19 points while McCracklin had 10. The trio was so dominant that it accounted for all of the Lady Rebels points during the first 32 minutes -- that's all, as in the first 51 -- before Robinson hit a jumper with 7:55 to play that tied the game at 53-all.

"I didn't have any idea when I came to the arena that I would score 33 points," said Moore, whose previous high was 26. She said the only time she could remember going off like that was in an AAU summer league game back home in Michigan when she scored 39 points, give or take a couple.

"I just felt real good, but then I always feel like that."

Still, it took her a little while to get going. Ditto for her teammates. With the "Barney" kids show going on at the same time at the Thomas & Mack Center next door, the Lady Rebels played the first 10 minutes as if they were wearing giant purple dinosaur heads.

They looked lost on defense as well-coached Rice simmered on offense, racing to a 26-14 lead.

After that, Moore began slashing to the basket and defensive replacement Nejlah Clark began contesting the Owls' shots. They were the catalysts in a first-half flurry that saw UNLV claw back to within 35-34 at halftime.

"We came out flat on defense and when that has happened before, we have gotten a little impatient on offense," Lady Rebels coach Regina Miller said. "During a timeout, I told them the way to get back into the game was a little at a time by playing defense and rebounding.

"We turned up the intensity on defense and we were able to get back in the game by being patient. Sheena took over the game on offense and Nejlah took over on defense."

It was more of the same in the competitive second half as UNLV didn't take its first lead until Moore fed Henry for a layup that made it 51-49 with 10:35 to play.

Still, there would be one more hill for the Lady Rebels to climb. Rice went on a 6-0 run that included a technical foul on Miller to take a 59-53 lead with 6:16 to play before UNLV roared back again, much to the delight of the small but raucous turnout at the Cox.

"This is fun," Miller said, the cheers of the crowd still ringing in her ears on the freight elevator down to the dressing room level. "Whether it's the NCAA or NIT, we've got make this our tournament."

Although it ended with the same result, Sunday's game was certainly an improvement over Thursday's 50-47 turnover-riddled victory against Arizona State. The Lady Rebels nearly cut their ball-handling mistakes in half, turning over the ball just 18 times after overcoming a season-high 33 turnovers to edge the Sun Devils.

And Rice, quite frankly, looked like a more formidable opponent from the start. The Owls, who shot 47 percent from the floor and sank 13 of 14 from the line, were led by Neaves, an all-Western Athletic Conference first-teamer, and Maynard, who each had 18 points.

It was another tough defeat for 22-10 Rice, which lost three times to No. 5 Louisiana Tech this year, including once in overtime.

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