Rebels blast Broncos, lock up No. 2 seed ahead of Mountain West Championships

UNLV’s Lady Rebels are hoping to use a rout in the program’s season finale to undo some recent rust heading into postseason play.

UNLV thumped Boise State, 76-47, in its lone meeting against the Broncos this season Wednesday, March 4 from The Pavilion.

“Just a great way to finish playing in The Pavilion this season,” head coach Lindy La Rocque said. “I thought we had a great crowd, the White-Out, people showed up and our team showed up. I challenged our team before this game was going to be the first of our tournament games.”

With three straight home wins to close the regular season slate, the Lady Rebels closed the year 12-3 at home while reaching 20 wins for the fifth straight season.

Entering Wednesday’s game, the team had split its last six outings.

“That’s huge,” La Rocque said. “I was telling our staff the other day, ‘How fortunate are we to be pissed off to be in second place and have 20 wins?’ How fortunate are you to be able to cover that?

“The reality is that’s a big deal.”

As part of the victory, UNLV sewed up the second seed in the upcoming Mountain West Championships, sitting only behind San Diego State. The tournament is set to begin Saturday, March 7 from the Thomas & Mack Center.

Even with that, the Lady Rebs won’t be in action until Sunday afternoon.

“You want to be playing your best at this time of year,” La Rocque said. “I don’t think that was still our best but it was definitely a step in the right direction.”

Having one more regular season contest on the calendar helped senior forward Shelbee Brown regain her dominant look after being limited by her standards over the last handful of games.

Brown hauled in six rebounds in the first quarter and was on pace for 24 boards in regulation as her team went up 12 points in the game’s opening frame. It was a frustrating first 10 minutes for the visitors including head coach Gordy Presnell, who was assessed a technical foul just five minutes into the game.

UNLV held Boise State to just eight points in the first quarter and 18 points in the first half while holding its opponent to 8-for-27 shooting. Entering play, the Broncos led the Mountain West with nearly 71 points scored per outing.

“I really credit our guards,” La Rocque said. “[Boise State’s] three guards can really score, they’re all averaging double-figures, they’re shooting it 40% from three. I challenged our guards that if you can guard these girls then you can guard anyone.

“The three guards combined had eight points, that’s pretty impressive.”

Brown finalized a double-double in the third quarter on her way to 22 points and 16 rebounds in the win. Fellow frontcourt star Meadow Roland added 15 and four.

As a collective, the duo combined to account for 12 of the team’s 14 made layups on the night.

“I thought we came out from the jump and dictated everything on both ends,” La Rocque said. “So that’s kind of the momentum, the energy that we want to be able to carry into the tournament.”

La Rocque played 13 players in the team’s regular season finale as it played a fourth straight game without senior guard Jasmyn Lott. Sophomore guard Teagan Colvin returned to the lineup after missing nine games due to injury.

“We don’t know [with Jasmyn],” La Rocque said. “It’s still pretty day-to-day. Obviously, we need her back and we love her so we want her back but you don’t put anyone’s health on the line.”

With so many players getting extended opportunities, junior guard Sydni Summers scored a season-high 14 points in the near 30-point victory.