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Number 23-ranked UNLV’s first game as a Top-25 team this season didn’t go the team’s way as it suffered its first loss of the season in blowout fashion.
In its furthest road trip of the season, the Lady Rebels were stomped by the Seton Hall Pirates, 84-54, Saturday, Dec. 16. UNLV was held to its season-low in total points in its first ever meeting against the Big East program. In addition, the loss comes after head coach Lindy La Rocque’s group picked up back-to-back wins against Power 6 schools.
After starting the season with nine straight wins, the Lady Rebels now have their first loss of the year. Prior to the loss, the team had compiled those nine wins by an average of more than 26 points per game.
UNLV will get back to action Thursday, Dec. 21 when it travels to play Fairleigh Dickinson which is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. local time.
The seven straight field goals made by Seton Hall in the second half was indicative of the dominant performance put on by the home team. Majority of the damage by the Pirates came in the paint as it outscored the Lady Rebs, 42-20. In addition, UNLV was outrebounded by 19.
Before the end of the first quarter, La Rocque’s group faced its largest deficit of the season at 13 points. Additionally, this game marked the first time this season the program has headed into halftime down on the scoreboard, this time by 22. The Lady Rebels would trail by as many as 30 points in the contest while never holding a lead the other way.
UNLV didn’t score its first points of the game until the 5:12-mark of the opening frame after falling behind 9-0, albeit on free throws. The team wouldn’t connect from the field until there was less than 90 seconds left to play.
Senior center Desi-Rae Young was held scoreless in the game’s opening quarter. She made her first basket just over a minute into the second 10-minute session. In her last outing against Oklahoma, she put up a career-high 32 points in a road win.
With the defense committed to her, Young would finish with just six points on 2-for-12 shooting with three rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Fellow frontcourt player Alyssa Brown was the team’s leading scorer at halftime with six points. She’d finish as the team’s leading scorer with 13 points in 22 minutes as the only double-digit scorer for the program.
Like Young, Brown also fouled out of the game.
No other player had more than nine points.