UNLV Lady Rebels improve to 3-0 with rout of Grand Canyon
The Lady Rebels required a furious late charge — a 19-0 fourth-quarter run — in their first game.
The next time out they struggled to protect the ball early, but came together in the second half.
In their third game, they left no doubt. From the outset Sunday, the Lady Rebels were in the driver’s seat and never trailed as they blew out Grand Canyon 76-47 at Cox Pavilion.
“I thought we came out with really good energy today,” coach Kathy Olivier said. “We started the game really strong. Katie (Powell) started with some easy buckets and we got after it defensively, and when we play good defense our game just goes another level.”
The Lady Rebels limited the Antelopes to eight points in the first quarter. For the game, they held Grand Canyon (0-4), who was without top scorer Brie Mobley, to 31.8 percent shooting.
“I think they definitely missed their leading scorer, but I do think we defensively we did a good job locking them down so I think it was a little bit of both,” Olivier said. “When we get in the passing lanes and we’re active defensively, we’re a pretty good team.”
The Lady Rebels dominated on the boards with a 53-30 rebounding advantage. Point guard Nikki Wheatley led the way.
At 5-feet-5-inches, Wheatley is one of the shortest players on the team. But she’s also one of the best rebounders.
Her goal is to grab 10 rebounds each game, and Sunday she pulled down 13. Powell also added 10 as both players finished with double-doubles.
Powell, a junior, had a game-high 20 points. Wheatley added 14, Brooke Johnson 13 and Jordyn Bell 10.
Along with Paris Strawther, making her first start after dealing with an ankle injury, Sunday marked the first game all five starters were together.
“I think this is the first time in my time here that it’s like the first couple games we had so many different lineups, and even as the game progressed, we had different combinations and stuff, so I think it was cool to kind of get back to that starting five group,” Wheatley said.
Those five carried UNLV all day, contributing all but 12 points.
The Lady Rebels shot 36.6 percent, and Olivier said she thought some shots were rushed, but there were improvements in other areas, most notably turnovers after they had committed 25 earlier this week.
“We had three at half. We were really excited about it. And we challenged them to have six or fewer turnovers for the game,” Olivier said. “We ended up with seven so we were disappointed, but that’s good for us.”
The win moves them to 3-0 for the third straight year.
“We’re a pretty good team, but we’ve got to continue to improve,” Olivier said. “We can’t just think we’re good and not work hard in practice. And I think we’ve been working hard in practice, our intensity’s been up in practice and it’s a carry over in the game.”
Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.
