UNLV becomes 2nd 5-0 team in Mountain West after beating Utah State at home

UNLV women’s basketball program won its last contest to open this week’s conference play to keep pace in a current two-team race in the Mountain West.

Lady Rebels moved to 5-0 in Mountain West action with a, 69-58, win over the Utah State Aggies Wednesday, Jan. 7 from The Pavilion. By doing so, the team improved its overall record to 10-5 while it presently sits behind San Diego State (10-3).

“We’re very excited,” senior guard Jasmyn Lott said. “We have a good team so I’m excited to see where we can go.”

Wednesday’s win extended the program’s season-long win streak to five games. Moreover, the team improved to 7-1 at home this year.

While this matchup was the lone home game during this current four-game stretch for UNLV, it concludes with back-to-back road games. Away from home this season, the team has lost four of its six outings.

That two-game road trip begins Saturday, Jan. 10 with a date against Wyoming. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.

“I told our team in the locker room that Wyoming is the toughest place to play in the league,” head coach Lindy La Rocque said. “Physically, location, all of it. Regardless of what they’ve done lately or their record this year, it’s going to be a battle.

“Different things happen there. Obviously, we’re not immune, we watched the men’s game last night. Hopefully, we can learn from them a little bit.”

All of the Lady Rebels' points in the first quarter and a little beyond in this most recent win came from sophomore Meadow Roland and the aforementioned Lott.

Roland muscled out 10 first quarter points on her way to a 18-point, 14-rebound double-double.

Lott scored a career-high 23 points en route to the victory beginning with her 10-point opening frame. This season, she leads the team in scoring with just under 14 points a game.

“Just my pullups,” she said. “Being consistent and just getting to what I know works for me and thankfully I hit today.”

By halftime, Roland and Lott had accounted for 33 points on 12-of-18 shooting while teammates had combined to go 3-for-17 from the field with just six points to show for it.

“[We were asked] to just be aggressive,” Lott said. “Take care of the ball which we didn’t do but just be aggressive as much as we can.”

After the first 29 points were scored by Roland and Lott, senior forward Shelbee Brown became the first aside from that duo to find the scoresheet.

Brown was in the thick of the effort that helped fight off several comeback tries by Utah State. The visitors trimmed the once 16-point deficit to nine points before halftime on a 17-4 run.

Coming out of the break, the Aggies drilled an early three-pointer to cut it to eight points which resulted in a timeout called by La Rocque.

“She told us we had to box out,” Lott said. “[At halftime, she told us], If we didn’t box out the first play of that quarter and they got the rebound, she’d call a timeout.”

Utah State would climb to as close as six points but would never get any closer.

Brown ended the night with the team’s second double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Her 16 rebounds hauled in are a new season-high while finishing three-shy of tying her career-high.

As a team, UNLV outrebounded its opponent, 47-32.

“Rebounding wins championships honestly,” La Rocque said. “We’ve kind of been on a rebounding roller coaster. In the stats we won the rebounding battle but we gave up 14 o-boards – too many honestly for a championship team that wants to put games away.”

The Lady Rebels started fast with makes on each of their first three shot attempts from the field. The only issue was the five turnovers the team committed in the first five and a half minutes of the game.

At the conclusion of the first quarter, UNLV’s 7-of-14 shooting mark with four made threes was only marred by the team’s six total turnovers.

Despite a 4-for-6 start from the three-point range in that first quarter, the Lady Rebels would miss 14 of its next 15 tries from deep. By the final horn, the team shot 6-for-22 from long range in totality.

“We can shoot,” Lott said. “Thankfully we hit today so haha.”