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UNLV’s lone conference loss in recent memory remains the standalone as the Lady Rebels’ blitzkrieg to start Mountain West play this year continued Sunday afternoon.
In another battle for first place, UNLV beat New Mexico, 88-73, Sunday, Jan. 12 from The Pit. Entering play, the Lady Rebels were riding a five-game win streak versus a four-game win streak for the home team.
The Lobos are responsible for the lone blemish over the last 50 conference games for the Lady Rebels including the Mountain West Championship. With the win, UNLV now has 21 straight road wins in the Mountain West.
”I think our team remembers some of the plays from that game that we lost,” head coach Lindy La Rocque said. “We didn’t harp on it but I’m good for reminding them of what we know New Mexico is capable of.”
On the heels of its 5-0 conference start to the season, La Rocque’s Lady Rebels are 13-4 this year and sit alone atop the conference standings.
“We’re kind of in the driver’s seat of first place,” she said. “We’re here all alone. Our last two games we had to go against people that also didn’t have any losses. Now we’re in the driver’s seat to control our own destiny and we want to stay there.”
Two home games await the Mountain West’s top team next week beginning with the program’s first meeting of the year against Air Force. That game will be played Wednesday, Jan. 15 from the Cox Pavilion with tip-off slated for 6 p.m.
After seeing a double-digit lead evaporate in the third quarter, UNLV used a huge fourth quarter run to right its wrongs on the way to victory. The team regained its lead on a 6-0 run before pushing its lead to six by extending the spurt to 11-0.
Ultimately, it was a 17-0 run to take the largest lead of the game for either side at 11. That lead would soon be stretched to 13 and eventually 15.
“I trust our team and more importantly, I trust [senior guard] Kiara Jackson with the ball at all times,” La Rocque said. “During that run, there were a couple of plays in transition but then there were a couple of structured offensive [plays] that we set up. And I trusted our players to make the plays.”
As fast as the Lady Rebels ended the game, it started just as slow. They opened the game without a field goal for the first four-plus minutes of the game. After the first 10 minutes, the team had shot 7-for-17 from the field and 1-for-9 from three-point territory. By the end of the contest, the team’s field goal percentage had jumped to 47% while converting 10 of its 27 three-point tries.
“New Mexico is so well-coached,” La Rocque said. “I figured [the Lobos’] game plan was going to be pressure or [head coach Mike Bradbury] was going to force us to make shots. I thought all of our shots, all of our threes frankly, were wide-open and good looks. Just early on, they weren’t going in.”
UNLV went up by 10 early in the third quarter and would jump into its full-court defense. Even with the pressure, New Mexico would not only respond with a 7-0 run but would take its first lead since the opening minute of the second quarter.
The Lady Rebels first grabbed a lead early in the second quarter behind a 10-2 run. Not long after, Jackson would be hit in the face with an elbow. The ensuing intentional foul free throws by sophomore Amarachi Kimpson ran the lead to eight points.
A quarter later, it would be Kimpson who’d be tagged in the face with another elbow from Lobos forward Amhyia Moreland. After acquiring a second intentional foul, Moreland would be disqualified from competing the remainder of the game.
“[Keeping our composure] was the biggest message,” La Rocque said. “I didn’t see the replay of either one so I don’t know if they were — well, the refs called them so they are what they are. But I think for us, it was about keeping our composure and not getting too emotional. Especially then, because the refs changed a little bit of their attitude of the game and tried to tighten things up.”
Sophomore McKinna Brackens led all UNLV scorers with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Fifth-year senior Aaliyah Alexander followed up with 18 points on 8-for-15 from the floor.
The aforementioned Jackson and Kimpson added 17 points and 13 points respectively while the latter dealt with foul trouble for a good duration of the game.
Kimpson was one of two players with four fouls in the win with the other being senior forward Alyssa Brown. Even while battling foul trouble, Brown pumped out a season-high 15 rebounds to go along with eight points amidst a 1-for-10 shooting night.
The 15 rebounds were two-shy of tying her career-high.
”She was all grit and toughness,” La Rocque said. “I thought her threes and her looks were great looks and she has to take them so that gives us an opportunity to rebound. I knew she was gobbling up a lot of rebounds, I didn’t know quite how many but that was just her toughness and her senior will to will us to a win.”
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