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For the tenth time in as many games, the UNLV Lady Rebels found themselves on the winning side of the scoreboard as they beat San Diego State, 76-67, Saturday, Feb. 12 from the Cox Pavilion.
The Lady Rebels are now 20-4 overall on the season which includes a 12-1 record in conference and an 11-1 record at home.
UNLV currently sits atop the Mountain West Standings with a 1.5 game lead over New Mexico.
With this being the fifth straight home victory for the Lady Rebels, it seems like the city has started to take notice of one of the hottest teams in Vegas and the Mountain West.
“I was a little worried because we hadn’t been home in over a week after having such great crowds for the New Mexico and Air Force games but seeing what we had today was awesome. We’re going to need it next week for Fresno State Wednesday night and San Jose State on Saturday.” La Rocque said. “It’s kind of hard to keep us quiet. We are around town and in the community so credit our team for getting the job done. The support of the community is huge. It really gives us an extra boost of energy and creates a great atmosphere that helps our kids play a little bit harder and makes it more enjoyable to play in front of a big crowd.”
As mentioned by La Rocque, the next game for the Lady Rebels is Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. against the Fresno State Bulldogs inside the Cox Pavilion.
Admission for UNLV and high school students with valid ID along with kids is free. Adult tickets are $10.
Junior Guard Essence Booker led the way, scoring 23 points on 8-of-15 from the field including 3-of-5 from three-point range.
After back-to-back games of under 50% shooting, Booker finished with a 53% field goal percentage against the Aztecs.
“Whether or not the ball is going in for me, it’s all about the team,” Booker said. “It’s going to go in for me if they are around me.”
Along with being the team’s leading scorer, Booker also nailed two buzzer-beating shots at the end of the second and third quarters. In each case, those buckets put the Lady Rebels up six points and helped swing momentum in UNLV’s favor.
“I thought she made some really timely baskets,” head coach Lindy La Rocque said. “She had some timely drives to get fouled, had a timely three in the second half and in a way, if there was such a thing as a quiet 23, it felt like that for her.”
One of the key stats to mention in this game is the fact that the Lady Rebels didn’t lose any of the four quarters.
They won the second and fourth quarters and tied at 18 points scored for both the first and third quarters.
The last time the Lady Rebels didn’t lose any quarter in a game was against Air Force two weeks ago.
The Lady Rebels seemed to be the more aggressive team as they drew 24 fouls which translated to 28 free throw attempts compared to 18 attempts for the Aztecs.
“Our identity is getting to the foul line, rebounding, and getting inside,” La Rocque said. “It’s a little bit of the game plan mainly because it’s who we are.”