UNLV perfect through two conference games following Mountain West home opener

A Mountain West home opener brought the UNLV Lady Rebels back to campus for the first time since November 28th. And it returned in the same fashion it left, with a win.

After ending a two-game losing streak in their last outing, UNLV opened its home conference slate with a, 89-71, win over New Mexico Saturday, Dec. 20. Earlier this week, the program opened Mountain West play with a one-point win over Grand Canyon.

“Today, they just did it,” head coach Lindy La Rocque said. “They shared the ball, we had 23 assists – the most we have all year. Again, the shot-making helps but I thought we just had good, clean, easy looks. And it was just reading the defense and being a willing passer and a willing shooter when it’s your turn to shoot.”

Now with an overall record of 7-5 on the year, the Lady Rebels will now get ready to play the backend of this two-game homestand. It will conclude Wednesday, Dec. 31 with a tip-off that has yet to be determined.

“Just staying locked in,” senior guard Destiny Leo said. “We will come with the same emphasis for the next game as we do every game.”

UNLV recorded just three madew three-pointers in its road win at GCU. The lid finally came off completely for the program in a big way led by Leo.

Early in the first quarter, she drilled two three-pointers to match her season-high. Moments later, she’d set a new season-high with a third made three after entering the game shooting 26% from beyond the arc.

“I think the message was to execute our scout,” she said. “I think that we really put an emphasis on rebounding and then we were able to push in transition and that really helped us get the game going.”

Leo scored 11 points in a first quarter that saw New Mexico go scoreless for five minutes and 24 seconds of the 10-minute frame. The Lobos were called for two technical fouls in the frustrating opening period.

The Lady Rebels went up by as many as 18 points in that first quarter on the way to 26 for the game. This is the largest lead for the program in a game this season.

“I just liked how we started the game,” La Rocque said. “Honestly, we started a touch slow and we got ourselves going. Of course, shot making makes me look good, it’s more fun to play. I think we were kind of searching for a basket there and then Leo rattles off three threes.”

On her way to six made threes on the night, Leo led the team in scoring with 20 points on 6-of-8 from the field.

“My teammates did a really good job of finding me in the right places,” she said. “Like I said, [senior forward Shelbee Brown] pushing the ball in transition, she was able to make the reads for the right plays.”

As a team, UNLV’s previous season-high 10 made three-pointers. It knocked down 12 treys in just the first half of this win. Early in the fourth quarter while sitting at 15 made threes, the team was one make away from tying the program record for made three-pointers in a game.

That record-tying longball was cashed in by sophomore guard Teagan Colvin for her only make of the night.

“I think this is probably our best performance of the year [in terms of percentage],” La Rocque said. “We executed plays but we made the simple play. Those are things that we’ve been preaching and talking about.”

Seven different players made at least one three on the night while four ended the night with two or more. Reserves Mariah Elohim and Trystan James each accounted for two apiece off the bench.

Sophomore Meadow Roland added three more made threes of her own on her way to 18 points in the win. She also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists.

“That’s what makes it really fun,” Leo said. “Meadow is banging threes, Shelbee is getting putbacks and rebounds. It’s just really exciting and everybody kind of had it going tonight.”

Brown recorded a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. The 14 rebounds tallied are a new season-high for the Memphis native while being five off of her career-high of 19.

Senior guard Aaliyah Alexander chipped in with 13 points from her starting role. Team leading scorer Jasmyn Lott was limited to just five points on 2-of-10 shooting.

All but two players played for UNLV. Among those who saw time on the court was junior guard Sydni Summers, who made her program debut.

Summers gave birth to her daughter, Naziyah, in September. In her first outing with the Lady Rebels, she played just under a minute in her first game action since March of last year.

“I’m super happy for her,” Leo said. “Seeing her be able to check into the game, she’s done a lot and she’s worked really hard to get to this point so I’m really proud of her.”