UNLV road trip begins with rivalry win against UNR

Nothing gets the juices flowing like a rivalry meeting that sets up a second straight win for the UNLV women’s basketball program.

To start a two-game road trip, the Lady Rebels dumped its intra-state rival, the Nevada – Reno Wolf Pack, 62-57, Saturday, Jan. 24 from the Lawlor Events Center. The start to this road trip comes after a 1-1 homestand for the program which included a loss to the San Diego State Aztecs.

That San Diego State team is the lone team on top of a UNLV club that sports a 14-6 overall record with an 8-1 mark in conference play. Moreover, the team earned its sixth win away from home in its first 10 road games.

Up next, the Lady Rebels will conclude their road trip with a Wednesday, Jan. 28 meeting against the New Mexico Lobos. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.

No lead larger than four points were had in the first half of the latest win for UNLV. In fact, the squad led for seven minutes and 50 seconds while the home team was on top for eight minutes and 22 seconds. Both teams combined to shoot 15-of-24 in the game’s opening quarter with a combined mark of 7-for-10 from three-point territory.

Just before halftime, the Rebels went without a point for five-plus minutes. Something that the Wolf Pack encountered as well.

However, all that began to change coming out of halftime when UNLV went up by 10 points. It would flip-flop as UNR went on a 14-1 run to regain the lead on a made three.

One final struggling offensive stretch for the Wolf Pack did the team in for good behind four more minutes of field goal-less basketball. That defensive effort allowed the Lady Rebs to win despite going the final 3:25 of regulation.

Senior guard Destiny Leo had a fast start to the game with back-to-back three-pointers to open the first quarter. She’d actually score the first eight points for La Rocque’s club behind a 3-for-3 start from the field with those two made threes.

Sophomore forward Meadow Roland recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while finishing the game a foul away from being disqualified.

Fellow frontcourt mate Shelbee Brown added a team-high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go along with five rebounds.

Fifth-year senior guard Aaliyah Alexander was the final player in double-figures for UNLV with 10 points in nearly 38 minutes of action.