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The UNLV Lady Rebels defeated the Utah Valley Wolverines, 73-63, Wednesday, Dec. 1 in Orem, Utah.
The win marked the fifth of the year for the Lady Rebels as they improved their record on the road to 2-1 on the season.
Being a road warrior is something UNLV is familiar with, going back to last season where the team went undefeated on the road. The road winning streak reached 10 games including some to start this season.
The Lady Rebels will be back in action in the second of this three-game road trip for the team as they prepare to take on the CSU Bakersfield RoadRunners on Sunday at 1 p.m. PST.
Fans can see the game on ESPN+.
That streak came to a halt at the hands of Northern Arizona who defeated the Lady Rebels 84-62 back on Nov. 17, the team’s last road game before Utah Valley.
UNLV jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in the first quarter and would never give the lead back after that. The Lady Rebels put together a solid first quarter on both ends of the court as they led, 18-11, heading into the second quarter.
Although forward Desi-Rae Young and guard Essence Booker both picked up two fouls in the first half, that didn’t stop the UNLV production on either side of the floor as the team continued to outscore Utah Valley to take a 36-26 lead into halftime.
“Two of our best players getting those two fouls early really put some handcuffs on me and the team a little bit, head coach Lindy La Rocque said. “But what I think it did provide was an opportunity for some other people to come in and get some great minutes and contribute.”
The third quarter proved to be a pivotal point in the game for the Lady Rebels as Young caught an elbow to the head/neck area, drawing a flagrant-1 foul on the Wolverines’ Kayla Anderson.
UNLV was able to turn the opportunity into four points.
Much like in the third quarter, the Lady Rebels had an opportunity to take advantage of a free possession when Wolverine head coach Dan Neilson got a technical foul early in the fourth quarter. UNLV walked away with another four points as a result of the technical foul which extended the lead from 13 to 17 and swung all momentum towards UNLV. The Lady Rebels led by as much as 23 in the quarter en route to a 73-63 victory over Utah Valley.
Booker led all UNLV scorers with 16 points while Young and forward Khayla Rooks each chipped in 13 points in the win.