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Coming in losers of two of their last three, the UNLV Lady Rebels ended non-conference play in a big way.
In the program’s first home game since Nov. 29, UNLV beat UC Riverside, 80-57, from the Thomas & Mack Center as part of a doubleheader. The program has still only lost back-to-back games once under head coach Lindy La Rocque and that dates back to the 2020-21 season.
”We wanted to play well to close out our non-conference slate,” La Rocque said. “To get some momentum going into our little Christmas break and obviously into conference play. There’s a lot of distractions this time of year but we were able to focus and get the job done.”
Prior to returning home, the Lady Rebels lost two of three on a winding road trip. They faced three power conference schools in both Texas and Illinois. In the midst, the group would lose to Baylor and Northwestern while claiming its lone win against DePaul.
Currently, the team sits at 8-4 on the year with conference play looming. As of now, the program is in the fourth slot in the conference standings as the three-time defending conference champs both in the regular season and tournament hunts for a fourth.
“Anytime you drop one you want the next opportunity to come pretty quickly,” La Rocque said. “It was good that it wasn’t the next day because we needed to work and learn some things and if anything, make that loss sting a little bit longer.”
A quest for a fourth straight Mountain West crown begins Sunday, Dec. 29 at home against Fresno State. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. from inside the Cox Pavilion.
UNLV’s defense was tight in its last non-conference showing of the season. Both teams jumped into a press defense in the opening minutes of the first quarter but the home team figured it out well before its opponent could.
The Highlanders shot 2-for-11 in the first quarter on their way to 19-for-55 for the game. At one point of the second quarter, the visitors made six of eight field goals during a stretch that saw them go on a 9-1 run.
However, opportunities were far and few for a UC Riverside team that compiled just seven assists on the night.
“Scouting report-wise, we want to be disruptive,” La Rocque said. “Each game that kind of calls for something different whether that’s pressure, some ball pressure that may be in the passing lane or knowing what they’re trying to run and take that away. I thought we had some pretty good locked in effort to take away their first thing.”
UNLV’s defensive pressure allowed the team to go up by 10 points in the first half en route to a 19-point lead before halftime. The home team would lead by 32 points in the cruising victory.
Everybody in uniform played for La Rocque with everybody finding the score column.
”It was good,” reserve forward Kenadee Winfrey said. “I’m glad everybody got in there today, it’s good to [come] home and go into Christmas with this win.”
Winfrey scored 12 points off-the-bench along with redshirt freshman forward Meadow Roland, who matched her scoring output. As a team, the Lady Rebels’ bench outscored the opponent’s, 44-19.
In totality, UNLV shot 48% from the field in the win with a 42%-mark from downtown. In the team’s last two victories, it has shot a combined 16-for-39 from three-point territory.
Sophomore guard Amarachi Kimpson led all Lady Rebel scorers with 13 points from her starting role. Backcourt teammate Kiara Jackson tallied six points in the win and is now just four points shy of reaching 1,000 for her collegiate career.
Jackson did record five assists on the night and has now moved into ninth all-time in program history in the category.
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