Lady Rebels survive road scare against Falcons, improve to 4-0 in conference play

With the calendar flipped to 2026, the UNLV Lady Rebels opened the new year the same way it closed the previous, with a win.

In a one-off road game, UNLV downed Air Force, 64-58, Saturday, Jan. 3 from The Pavilion. It’s the program’s third road win in seven tries after also beating Grand Canyon by a point to open conference play.

UNLV is now on a season-long four-game win streak while also being one of four Mountain West teams without a loss in conference play. Overall, La Rocque’s club is 9-5 on the year.

Up next, the team will take on Utah State Wednesday, Jan. 7 from The Pavilion with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Three of the next five games for the Lady Rebels will take place from the campus of UNLV.

In a wildly entertaining game, UNLV pulled away in the second quarter behind a stifling defensive effort that saw the team score 15 unanswered points. During that time, Air Force was held without a point for more than five and a half minutes and without a field goal for more than six minutes.

Sophomore forward Meadow Roland recorded three blocks in the second quarter, all during that run. She’d end the game with four swats.

To add to the Falcons’ misery, the Lady Rebels held their opponents without a point for the first three minutes of the third quarter.

The once 13-point lead was cut to five points later in that third quarter after a push from Air Force. It would be cut down to five once again in the fourth quarter before being trimmed to three points twice.

Ultimately, the visitors would climb to within two points of the lead but would not inch any closer.

UNLV went without a point for three-plus minutes early in that fourth quarter. It would happen again before the final buzzer when the team went without a field goal for another three-plus minute stretch.

That cold finish to the game came after a fast first half start by the home team. The Lady Rebels shot 15-for-24 in the first 20 minutes including a 7-for-9 stretch in the first quarter.

Saturday goes down as the program’s first conference win where it didn’t record at least 50% shooting from the floor.

The Falcons opened the game in a full-court press defense which sped up the Lady Rebs’ offense. In fact, the home team was rushed into five turnovers in the first quarter which was more than it forced the entire game going the other way.

By the final horn, the team committed 16 turnovers which is about two more than its season average coming into the contest. Air Force turned those mistakes into 27 more field goal attempts than its opponent.

Despite that development, both teams would end the game with 23 made field goals.

In addition, the Falcons muscled their way to 16 offensive rebounds despite the loss. Even with that show of strength, the team would miss 15 of its 27 layup attempts while the Lady Rebels went 11-for-15 in the same scenario.

Senior forward Shelbee Brown recorded her fourth double-double of the season with a season-high tying 16 points and 10 rebounds. Over the last three games, she is averaging 15.7 points and 10 rebounds. Over the last three games, she is averaging 15.7 points per game coupled with 11 rebounds per outing.

Roland added nine rebounds to go along with her 12 points in the win.

Leading scorer Jasmyn Lott hit a three-pointer with 67 seconds left in regulation for her second make of the night in 10 attempts. She ended with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.

After scoring 17 points against Fresno State, senior guard Mariah Elohim hit four three-pointers en route to the victory. As a result, she closed the outing with 14 points on 50% shooting.