Lady Rebels fall in overtime to Colorado State

By Tiffany Gibson

Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010 | 2:52 a.m.

Coming off a win in Salt Lake City last week, the UNLV women’s basketball team looked to gain its second Mountain West Conference victory against Colorado State on Wednesday night but couldn’t seal the deal in overtime.

The Lady Rebels lost 66-65.

“I know we’re getting better and better, but I know that’s not showing by the W’s and the L’s,” said head coach Kathy Olivier. “We did a great job against Utah at Utah, so I thought that would give us some confidence.”

The Rebels came out of the locker room to start the game with a powerful defense that forced the Rams into 10 turnovers in the first half. The team was also perfect from the free throw line, shooting 12-of-12 in the first period and trailing 30-27 at the half.

The team only seemed to lose control during the last minute of overtime, Olivier said.

“I thought I should have done a better job of controlling the game when we were up by 5 with one minute left,” Olivier said. “We just didn’t close it out in the end.”

The Rebels led 65-60 with one minute left to play but lost the 5-point advantage after Colorado State sophomore guard and leading scorer Kim Mestdagh made a 3-point play when fouled by Smith.

“Unfortunately, the referees called a foul and they (Colorado State) tied it up,” Smith said.

Mestdagh’s play brought the Rams within 2 points of UNLV.

Trying to extend its lead, UNLV freshman guard Mia Bell drove to the basket for an easy layup but missed. Mestdagh retaliated with a 3-pointer at the 10-second mark that put the Colorado State up by 1.

Fans were on their feet in the Cox Pavilion as UNLV hustled down the court in the final seconds and tried to create an offensive play.

Smith said she contemplated taking a shot in the paint but wanted to find one of her teammates who could get a better look.

“Colorado State has a pretty big lineup and I saw three girls in (the paint), so that means three more girls who can get the rebound if I miss,” Smith said. “I figured I’d kick it out to Mia and hopefully get a rebound.”

With three Colorado State defenders crowding around her, she passed the ball to Bell, who posted up behind the 3-point arch on the right side and fired a shot that bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

Olivier said there wasn’t a plan as to who would take the final shot. She said Bell took the shot because she knows she can hit a 3-pointer from that position on the floor.

“She’s young in her career and not afraid to take it (the shot),” Olivier said. “Mia can hit that three. She’s done it before and she’ll do it again.”

The 66-65 loss puts the Rebels at 8-11 for the season and 1-4 in the conference.

Smith picked up a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 boards. Freshman guard Kelli Thompson followed with 14 points, three assists and one steal.

UNLV’s leading scorer and junior point guard Erica Helms only scored 7 points and was 0-of-4 from the 3-point line.

Olivier said Colorado State was ready for Helms and defended her well. She said even though Helms didn’t score a lot of points, she still made crucial plays for the team.

Thompson also battled underneath the goal and helped the team climb back from a 12-point deficit in the second half with two 3-pointers.

With 8:43 left to play in the second half, Thompson posted up on the right side of the court and fired a huge 3-pointer that cut Colorado State’s lead to 5, 50-45.

A few plays later, Thompson hit another 3-pointer that allowed UNLV to take the lead at 52-50.

“My three was just a set play for me, and I came off it and hit it,” Thompson said. “I couldn’t tell you how, but the ball went in the basket.”

Thompson said she hopes to be more prepared for Saturday’s game against Texas Christian Academy by practicing her rebound skills.

“We don’t need only Jamie (Smith) rebounding,” Thompson said.  “We need to rebound as a team and not look to her to rebound. That needs to stop because she can’t get all of them.”

The Rebels had 19 rebounds in the first half and 40 overall — five short of Colorado State’s total.

Olivier said she hopes the team will be able to stay focused despite Wednesday’s loss and pull out a home win on Saturday.

“I hate having an off night at home because I feel like the crowd deserves better,” Olivier said. “We’ve played our best basketball on the road this year, and I’m not into that because this community deserves better. We’re going work like hell to get some W’s at home.”