Holmes not enough for UNLV

Sequoia Holmes reached a milestone for the Lady Rebels by topping 1,000 career points Saturday night, but UNLV could have used a few more rebounds in its 79-64 loss to Texas Tech at Cox Pavilion.

The Lady Raiders dominated the boards 50-28 and did whatever they pleased inside the paint, where they outscored the Lady Rebels 36-14 en route to the victory.

Texas Tech (4-0) trailed 32-25 at halftime, but opened the second half with a 17-9 run to take a 42-41 lead it wouldn’t give up. The Lady Raiders extended their spurt to 26-10 and outscored UNLV 54-32 in the second half.

"The first five minutes of the second half determined the outcome of the game," UNLV coach Regina Miller said. "We have to be able to put 40 minutes together, and we played about 20 minutes.

"They killed us on the boards. We didn’t box them out, and that’s mental discipline and focus. They rebounded at will. That doesn’t take a lot of talent; that’s heart."

Guard Jordan Murphree led the Lady Raiders with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting, and Texas Tech’s post players took over inside, with 6-foot-1-inch forward Stanecia Graham getting 16 points and nine rebounds, 6-3 center Erin Myrick contributing 14 points and 11 rebounds and 6-2 forward Dominic Seals adding 11 points and seven rebounds.

"They came out and matched our intensity," said Holmes, who led all scorers with 21 points on 6-for-18 shooting and has 1,002 for her career.

"When we get somebody back on their heels, we can’t give it up. We have to keep executing when we’re ahead."

UNLV (1-2) continued to struggle from the field, where it entered with a 37.4 field-goal percentage and made only 20 of 58 shots (34.5 percent).

Dominique Harris scored 19 points for UNLV and had a team-high seven rebounds, and Brittany Halberg added 16 points.

• NOTE — Brittani Smith has signed a national letter of intent to play for UNLV next season. Smith, a 6-3 center from Coweta, Okla., averaged 10 points and six rebounds per game last season for Coweta High School.