Nov. 22, 2015 Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
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HONOLULU, Hawaii - The young LMU women's basketball team made big strides in its final game at the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic, earning a 69-58 win over Nevada at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The win snapped a three-game skid to start the season and was a clear building block for the season.
"It feels good to get that first win," said Head Coach Charity Elliott. "We talk about milestones and this is the first milestone. What I'm most excited about is that we have so many different people capable of so many different things, and we saw that today."
Senior Sophie Taylor paced the Lions with 14 points while freshman Andee Velasco had a breakout game, scoring 12 points and adding three assists in 23 minutes off the bench. Leslie Lopez-Wood also came off the bench to chip in 11 points while Bree Alford had a game-high 13 boards.
"One of the greatest parts of today was Andee really being able to show who she is and what she'll bring to our team," Elliott said. "Also we had Leslie come in and hit some really big shots off the dribble and have great mental focus."
After Nevada scored the first point of the game, the Lions went on a quick 9-2 run, opening up a six-point lead midway through the first quarter. A Lopez-Wood three and Taylor jumper in the final minute left the Lions doubled up on the Wolfpack, 16-8, a the quarter end.
LMU's freshmen got into the act in the second quarter, spurring a 14-2 run that opened up a 31-17 advantage at the 5:10 mark. Bianca Velasco scored four points, Marcella Hughes knocked down a three and Andee Velasco capped the run with five straight points.
The Lions would carry a 40-29 lead into the break. But Nevada was not finished. The Wolfpack opened the third quarter a 14-2 run, pulling to within one, 42-41, with 6:02 on the clock. But LMU's balanced attack responded.
Lopez-Wood hit a jumper in the paint and NK Ilang powered her way to the basket for two, quickly pushing the spread back to five, 46-41. Following a Nevada free throw, Makenzie Cast and Andee Velasco hit back-to-back buckets and the Lions would score the final five points of the quarter, pushing their cushion to nine, 55-46.
"In the past, when we get that lead and we lose it, its hard for us to bounce back," said Elliott. "Today, we bounced back, got the lead back and stayed calm and composed. It's going to be exciting to see where we end up, because we are still very much evolving."
Nevada would get no closer than six down the stretch as Bianca Velasco hit two big layups and the Lions went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final frame.
LMU hit nearly 43 percent from the field and 81 percent from the free-throw line (13-for-16) while holding Nevada to just 35.6 percent from the field. The Wolfpack (0-4) also hit just 14-for-24 from the free-throw line.
The Lions return to Gersten Pavilion to host their annual LMU Thanksgiving Classic. Play begins Friday, Nov. 27 with UC Irvine taking on Princeton at 1 p.m. LMU takes on Seattle at 3:30 p.m.
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