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It was a rivalry game romp when the UNLV Lady Rebels met the Nevada – Reno Wolf Pack for the first time this season, winning the game by 40-plus points.
UNLV thumped UNR, 92-47, Saturday, Jan. 27 from the Thomas & Mack Center in the first meeting of the season in the Silver State Series rivalry. The win improved the program to 7-1 at home this season including a 2-0 mark inside The Mack.
“That’s what I’m looking for is improvement and them doing the right thing,” head coach Lindy La Rocque said. “Offensively and defensively we didn’t have a super sloppy stretch which obviously I’m really proud of and the score was indicative of that.”
The Lady Rebels are now 17-2 this season while amidst their first homestand since mid-November. That homestand concludes with a battle for first-place in the Mountain West against the Wyoming Cowgirls on Wednesday.
“We just have so much more of a season left,” La Rocque said. “We’re not even halfway through conference play so I don’t coach the score, I coach our players because we have to get better.”
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night from the Cox Pavilion.
All gas, no brakes was the philosophy for UNLV in its most recent win, jumping on UNR by as many as 20 points in the game’s opening quarter. That lead would grow to be as large as 31 in the first half.
For the second straight game, the team was stout defensively, allowing just five points on 2-of-17 from the floor. Over the past two games the Lady Rebs have allowed just 10 combined points on a total of 3-for-30 from the field.
“Our last game at home we lost,” La Rocque said. “it was a little bit of our own intensity and effort that we were really focused on in having a great start and being aggressive from the get-go.”
UNLV pulled away with this one early and ultimately would lead by 47 points in this wire-to-wire victory. The final margin of victory is the largest in the history of the Silver State rivalry.
“It’s a rivalry game and you have to come ready to play,” La Rocque said. “Anything can happen and we brought our best today and I think we can still play even better.”
Senior center Desi-Rae Young scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half to net the Lady Rebels the cushion. She did it efficiently too, scoring her points on an 8-for-12 night from the field.
After recording just one point in the team’s last outing, junior guard Kiara Jackson scored five in the first quarter on her way to 16 points which shared in the team-high with Young. Another efficient shooting night for Jackson with her encountering her first miss late in the third quarter after seven straight makes.
Jackson also led the team in rebounding with a career-high nine boards. As a team, UNLV collected 50 rebounds while outrebounding UNR by 20.
Freshman guard Amarachi Kimpson added 16 points to become the third Lady Rebel to hit that mark but the first off-the-bench. She scored nine of her 16 in the second half while also picking up three of her team-high four assists as part of the team’s 19 dimes.
Junior guard Macie James was the final player in double-figures for UNLV with 12 points as the team put its final touches on a dominant win over its in-state rival.
The Lady Rebels scored 47 total bench points on the day which matched the total output of the Wolf Pack team.
“I’m happy with our performance,” La Rocque said. “I’d be happy against any opponent playing like this but of course maybe it means a little bit more against Reno. But we’re going to see them again and I think they’re going to remember that too