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Lindy La Rocque’s UNLV Lady Rebels have found success relying on their defensive principles in the team’s biggest games of the year. In hopes of securing sole possession of first place Wednesday night the team did it again in a rematch from last year’s conference tournament championship game.
UNLV put away Wyoming, 58-51, Wednesday, Jan. 31 from the Cox Pavilion to end the program’s two-game homestand undefeated. Entering play, both Mountain West clubs were positioned at the top of the standings with a 7-1 conference record.
“What a grind of a game,” the fourth-year head coach said. “Obviously, it’s not how we love to play but that’s what the game called for and our team was up for the challenge. We’re halfway through conference play and you’ve got to find a way to win and our team did that so I’m really proud of them for stepping up and doing it.”
Over the last nine games, La Rocque’s group is sporting a 8-1 record. In total, the team is 18-2 this season with nine left games in the regular season.
The Lady Rebels’ lone Mountain West loss came at home against the New Mexico Lobos who happen to be next up on the schedule as the team has run off three straight wins since that hang up. That game is slated for Saturday, Feb. 3 with tip-off set for 1 p.m. inside The Pit.
An early 9-0 run in the fourth quarter gave UNLV’s its largest lead of the night to that point at 10 points. Moments later, it would be stretched to 12 points before Wyoming would swing back with a 6-0 spurt of its own.
At one point of the fourth quarter after falling behind by 12 points, the Cowgirls trimmed the deficit to three.
Freshman guard Amarachi Kimpson came up with a big steal with about 35 seconds left in regulation and the Lady Rebels up five points. On the Lady Rebels’ previous offensive possession, she knocked down a floater to give the team the aforementioned lead.
In the third quarter, Kimpson netted the team the four-point lead heading into the final frame on an and-one finish plus the free throw. The Little Elm, Texas product closed the night with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go along with two steals.
“I’m continuing to beg her to be aggressive,” La Rocque said. “When she is, it's just really awesome. Her impact on the game, honestly her defensive and her offense – she’s a total two-way player.”
Senior center Desi-Rae Young led the team in scoring with 15 points on 6-of-14 from the field. UNLV didn’t have a double-digit scorer until both Kimpson and Young reached the plateau in the fourth quarter.
Young didn’t record her first field goal of the night until early in the second quarter off the first assist of the game from junior guard Kiara Jackson. At halftime, the centerpiece of the back-to-back Mountain West title reigns sat with three points on 1-of-6 shooting.
“It was a rough shooting night for us as a group,” La Rocque said. “We just kind of found a way and when we needed baskets she gave us a couple of big ones.”
Some of Young’s best work of the night came on the defensive end while guarding Wyoming’s Allyson Fertig, who was limited to six points on 3-for-7 from the floor. In six games played against UNLV in her career, Fertig is averaging 6.8 points per game on 37% from the field.
The aforementioned Jackson posted eight points to go along with a game-high nine rebounds. She tied her career-high in rebounds just four days ago.
“Kiara and Desi, we ride with them,” La Rocque said. “When the game’s on the line, there’s no one that I trust more. We have great players around them that I also trust to make the right plays.”