UNLV loses big halftime lead, lose on buzzer-beater to Florida in WBIT’s second round

For the second time this season, UNLV suffered defeat on a last-second buzzer-beater. This time around, it ended the program’s season.

In the Second Round of the WBIT the Lady Rebels dropped a heartbreaker, 86-84, to the Florida Gators Sunday, March 23 from the Cox Pavilion. It was a matchup between two and three seeds in the second annual postseason tournament.

Prior to Sunday’s outcome, UNLV had gone a perfect 2-0 against the SEC mainstay.

“What an incredibly high-level basketball game,” head coach Lindy La Rocque said. “Fun to play in – it had to be fun to watch. We had a great atmosphere and unfortunately, it ends up being our last game of the season. On a buzzer-beater three.”

This year’s Lady Rebel program ends the season 26-8 as La Rocque ends her fifth season with a 128-30 overall career record. On the other hand, the Gators will move on to host the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

“For us that have been spoiled by the ultimate pinnacle the last three years, it might be a little disappointing to you,” La Rocque said. “But it ain’t about you, it’s about the reality of being 26-8. You tell any coach across the country that they’ll finish the year 26-8 and they’ll probably take it.”

UNLV found itself on the right side of an 11-point lead at halftime but suffered a serious setback in the second half. A buzzer-beater by Florida at the halftime horn would eventually serve as an omen for the finish.

Not long out of the halftime break, the Gators went on an 8-0 run to cut the once 14-point lead down to single-digits. Soon after, the Lady Rebel lead was down to four and then one.

Heading into the fourth quarter, Florida had led for just 26 seconds. A minute and four seconds into the fourth quarter, the No. 3 seed regained the lead.

“I’m super proud of the fight today,” senior forward Alyssa Brown said. “We tried to make adjustments, we started talking more – communicating more. I’m super proud of the fight down the stretch.”

Clinging to a one-point lead, UNLV watched Florida cash in on a buzzer-beating three-pointer right in front of the visiting bench before erupting into elation. On the other end of the court, the group stared in disbelief as officials went to review the final shot.

“That’s basketball,” La Rocque said. “Sometimes, the ball just doesn’t bounce your way. We’ve been on the other side of that also.”

After shooting 55% from the field and 42% from three-point range, the Lady Rebels were limited to 36% from the floor and 17% from deep.

Senior guard Kiara Jackson scored eight points in the first 5:52 of the game after being held to just eight in the team’s First Round contest against Hawaii. She’d finished with 15 points and a game-high eight assists in 37 minutes of action.

Brown recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

“I just think we really wanted to win,” Brown said. “That was kind of what was driving us tonight. We wanted to do anything we could to secure the game. Even though we didn’t I’m super proud of the fight we put in today.”

Sophomore Amarachi Kimpson led all scorers in the game with 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting including an 8-for-10 mark from the free throw line. In the fourth quarter, Florida threw a series of defensive looks at the Texas native including hard hedges on screens and double teams.

“She ends up being the leading scorer on the season for us as a sophomore,” La Rocque said. “Similar to Kiara when [guard Essence Booker] left, it’s not a ‘fill-the-shoes,’ it’s a ‘be your own person in your own way.’ No one has to tell Rachi that, she understands that.”

Redshirt freshman Meadow Roland was the final Lady Rebel in double-digit scoring figures with 12 points to go along with six rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.

“I’m super excited,” Brown said. “We have a lot of young people like Rachi, we have some young freshmen coming in that I’m super excited about. I’m just excited to see them carry the culture and the winning forward.”