Moore carries Rebels to win

Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004 | 9:20 a.m.

SUN WIRE REPORTS

Sheena Moore's 22 points and a 22-12 rebounding advantage in the second half carried the UNLV women's basketball team to a 66-63 victory Monday night against South Carolina in the second day of the WBCA/BTI Classic at Seattle.

A day after losing their season opener to 14th-ranked Minnesota, the Lady Rebels bounced back to even their record coming into their home opener Friday night at Cox Pavilion against Central Florida.

The Lady Rebels trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half against South Carolina (0-2), but a 21-11 run midway through the first half put UNLV ahead.

RanDee Henry had a double-double for UNLV with 12 points and 11 rebounds and Kameca Simmons added 11 points.

Women's Top 25

A late 7-3 run by Washington (2-0) forced the game into overtime after the teams exchanged leads for 20 minutes.

Breanne Watson, the tournament MVP, scored 11 points as Washington defeated a non-conference, ranked opponent for the first time since March 24, 2001, when the Huskies beat then-No. 7 Oklahoma.

Jamie Broback scored 18 points for Minnesota, but missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with less than two seconds remaining.

Men's Top 25

Justin Gray had 18 points and seven steals and Vytas Danelious added 17 points for the Demon Deacons, who advanced to a second-round home game Thursday against Virginia Commonwealth, which beat American 82-76 in overtime Monday.

George Washington tried several halfcourt and fullcourt trapping defenses, hoping to force Paul -- the leading vote-getter on the Associated Press preseason All-America team -- to give the ball up. When they failed, Paul made them pay by spinning through double teams, penetrating into the lane and finding open teammates.

The Demon Deacons led by 14 points early in the second half, but struggled to put away the Colonials (0-1). George Washington hit eight 3-pointers to hang around, closing to 75-70 on a 3 from Carl Elliott midway through the second half.

But Paul made sure the Demon Deacons did not disappoint their rowdy crowd, leading a 10-2 charge that finally gave them a working margin in the final minutes.

After Danelius hit a shot in the lane, Paul drove the length of the court and hit a double-pump layup for a 79-70 lead.

He added two free throws after drawing the fifth foul on Pops Mensah-Bonsu -- one of several Colonials players who got into foul trouble thanks to Paul's penetration -- then corralled a loose ball in the backcourt and found Eric Williams alone for a slam and an 85-72 lead with 4:42 left.