Lady Rebels put clamps on Aztecs, look for momentum

San Diego State hasn’t done much offensively this basketball season, and for a UNLV team searching for some sort of spark, shutting down the Aztecs was especially important.

The Lady Rebels did that, handing the Aztecs a 64-47 loss Saturday at Cox Pavilion. Now the key is whether they build on this performance.

UNLV, which plays three of its next four games on the road, has yet to win twice in a row since opening the season with back-to-back victories. The Lady Rebels (6-10, 3-2 Mountain West) have the chance to make some gains with trips to New Mexico (7-9, 3-2) and Utah State (3-13, 0-4), followed by a home game against UNR (6-9, 2-2) and a trip to Air Force (1-15, 0-5).

All are winnable games and give UNLV the opportunity to move up in the conference standings.

“The Lady Rebels, we haven’t had confidence for a long time,” UNLV coach Kathy Olivier said. “I think it would build confidence because I really think this team can be a lot better.”

UNLV’s defense will need to play as it did against San Diego State (5-11, 2-3), limiting the Aztecs to 29.3 percent shooting. That included an 0-for-5 performance from the 3-point line.

The last time the Lady Rebels didn’t allow a 3-point field goal was Jan. 22, when Utah State went 0-for-12 in a 73-67 UNLV victory.

The 47 points the Lady Rebels allowed against San Diego State were the lowest by an opponent since they routed Air Force 87-43 on March 1.

San Diego State entered the game next to last in the Mountain West in scoring, averaging 56.8 points. Saturday was the sixth time the Aztecs were held to fewer than 50 points.

They put up a fight, however, after UNLV threatened to run away in taking a 27-7 lead with 8:38 left in the first half. San Diego State closed out the half with a 21-6 run and trailed 33-28.

Halftime arrived just in time for the Lady Rebels, who refocused and then slowly extended their lead in the second half.

“We did a really good job because our struggle (this season) is the beginning of the first half and the beginning of the second half,” said guard Danielle Miller, who led UNLV with 17 points.

Defense was critical, with the Aztecs scoring just 19 points in the second half.

“The first half was even better until we let them start scoring,” said UNLV forward Alana Cesarz, who had 16 points and 13 rebounds. “We held them to four points for the first 10 minutes of the game, or close to that, so I think that speaks a lot for our defense. That shows us that we are a very defensive-mindset team, so I think our defense is what is going to help us get wins throughout conference.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.