Callaway leads UNLV to Lady Rebel Round-Up final

One way or the other, Aime Callaway knew the ball was going to eventually find her. And when it did, the UNLV senior center knew what to do.

Callaway took advantage of the gaps in George Mason's 2-3 zone defense and finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds to help the Lady Rebels defeat the Patriots 67-59 Saturday at Cox Pavilion in the opening round of the Lady Rebel Round-Up.

UNLV (5-0) faces Drake at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the championship game. The Bulldogs defeated Tulsa 91-80 to earn their spot in the final.

"As a post player, I love it when I see a zone," the 6-foot-1-inch Callaway said. "I just worked the high-low with Aley (Rohde) and I was able to get some good looks at the basket."

Coach Kathy Olivier knew George Mason would zone her team and it appeared the Lady Rebels were prepared to run their zone offense. But shots weren't dropping during the first half and there were times UNLV was impatient when it had the ball.

But Olivier and her staff made a nice adjustment at halftime and got the post players more touches and the Patriots were getting back-doored or beat along the baseline. UNLV outscored George Mason 19-8 in the third quarter and led by as many as 14 with 3:20 to go in the quarter.

"I liked what we were doing against their zone but we just had to do a better job knocking down shots," Olivier said.

Enter Nikki Wheatley into the equation. The sophomore guard had eight of her 15 points in the third quarter and her quickness was too much for the Patriots, who fell to 2-5 and were led by Taylor Brown with 14 points.

"She made some very good decisions with and without the ball," Olivier said of Wheatley. "She was a tough matchup for them and we were able to take advantage of that."

The Patriots tried to make a late run, closing to within 59-53 with just under a minute to play. But sophomore guard Brooke Johnson delivered at the free-throw line, making four in the final 50 seconds as part of a 7-for-7 performance to help her earn high-scoring honors Saturday with 16 points.

"I work on my free throws and I've always been a good free-throw shooter," Johnson said. "I didn't feel any pressure."

For Olivier, her challenge today is to have her team ready to play on a short turnaround against a Drake team that was picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference and is off to a fast start with wins over Iowa State, Wisconsin and Creighton.

"It's definitely going to test us," Olivier said. "But we're excited to be playing for a championship at home."

Drake 91, Tulsa 80 — The Bulldogs remained undefeated improving to 5-0 as they withstood Tulsa's early fourth-quarter charge.

The Golden Hurricane rallied from six down late in the third quarter to lead 62-61 early in the fourth. But Drake, which shot 88 percent from the free-throw line (22 of 25), was able to eventually pull away as Maddy Dean led the Bulldogs with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Lizzy Wendell added 17.

Tulsa, which fell to 1-4 and will play George Mason in today's consolation game at noon, put six players in double-figures led by Ashley Clark's 22 points.

— Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.