Sanford helps Lady Rebels down Toreros

When Lady Rebels basketball coach Kathy Olivier first recruited Lenita Sanford out of Lynwood (Calif.) High School in 2007, she was confident the McDonald's All-American could help turn around a college program with her rebounding and shot-blocking skills.

"I just remember she was a program changer on defense, and how many people do you say that about?" Olivier said Friday after the 6-foot-3-inch forward helped lead UNLV to a 66-48 victory over San Diego at Cox Pavilion.

Playing in just her second Division I game after being limited to one season of junior college ball the last three years, Sanford had a game-high 12 rebounds with eight points, three steals and two blocked shots.

"It just feels good to play basketball again," said Sanford, who had 14 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals in UNLV's season-opening 76-42 rout of Southern Utah.

Ignited by their defense Friday, the Lady Rebels (2-0) went on an early 10-0 run to take a 10-2 lead over the Toreros (1-1) and never trailed again.

Kelli Thompson finished with 13 points and two steals to lead a balanced Lady Rebels attack.

UNLV had 10 steals and scored 17 points off 14 San Diego turnovers to build a 42-25 halftime lead.

"I loved our first half," Olivier said. "They had to match our intensity. If we can continue to do that, we can be a pretty good basketball team, because we're deep, we have a lot of options, size down low and quickness."

The Lady Rebels came out sluggish in the second half but maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way and outrebounded the Toreros by 13.

Led by India Chaney, who had 11 points and a team-high four steals, UNLV's bench outscored San Diego's 26-7.

Sophomore Mia Bell, a Durango High School product, had nine points for the Lady Rebels. Jamie Smith and Markiell Styles scored eight apiece.

Bell started in place of senior point guard Erica Helms, who played only five minutes in her second game since giving birth in September to a girl fathered by her boyfriend, UNLV guard Tre'Von Willis.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.