19 LADY REBELS HEADING BACK TO MW CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
UNLV won its 14th straight game and are headed back to the Mountain West Championship game for the third straight year
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The No. 19 UNLV women’s basketball team are headed back to the Mountain West Championship game for the third straight year after defeating No. 5 seed Colorado State 62-52 on Tuesday evening in the MW Semifinals at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Lady Rebels secured a win in all three meetings with the Rams.
Amarachi Kimpson had another big game for the Lady Rebels (29-2) against the Rams (20-11) leading the way with 18 points by shooting 7-for-12 from the field, 3-for-4 from the free throw line and was 1-for-3 from the three-point line. Kiara Jackson was the second leading scorer on the night with 12 points and led the squad in assists (five) and steals (two). Desi-Rae Young and Alyssa Brown continue to be a duo that can’t be stopped underneath the hoop. The two brought down a combined 23 rebounds of UNLV’s 40 rebounds. Young had 13 (three offensive, 10 defensive) and Brown brought down 10 (one offensive, nine defensive).
The Rams were led in scoring by Marta Leimane who put up 15 points on the night and Sanna Strom was the leading rebounder for Colorado State with seven (three offensive, four defensive).
GAME OF RUNS: The Lady Rebels started the game with eight straight points before the Rams got on the board with their first bucket. UNLV then scored five consecutive points to go up 13-2. UNLV and Colorado State put up a three-pointer and the Rams sank the last basket to end the first quarter, 16-7 in favor of UNLV. The Rams started the second quarter with a four-point scoring run before both sides exchanged baskets the rest of the quarter. Heading into the half, the Lady Rebels held a 26-21 lead. Following the break, UNLV came out firing and went on a nine-point scoring run to begin the third. The Rams would score four-points and the Lady Rebels would break up the scoring run with a basket of their own three times in the third and ended the quarter with a 41-35 UNLV lead. In the final frame, Colorado State made a layup and jump shot before UNLV scored four straight, 45-39. The Rams started to climb their way back and were within one possession of the Lady Rebels, but UNLV had a seven-point scoring run to extend the lead back to double-digits, 55-45. The Lady Rebels then went on to score four straight points on free throws to make the difference 11-points, 59-48. More free throws with 32 seconds left to go had UNLV back up by 11, but Colorado State made one free throw to cut the deficit back to 10.
OTHER NOTES:
- UNLV is headed back to its third consecutive Mountain West Championship game and are looking to make history and become the first team in the MW to complete a three-peat in the tournament. The last time the Lady Rebels were in three consecutive conference championship games was back during the 1984-90 in the Big West where UNLV went to seven straight conference championship games.
- The Lady Rebels’ bench out-scored the Rams’ bench 26-9.
- This is the second game this season UNLV has trailed in rebounds (41-40) and collected the win.
- The Lady Rebels out-scored the Rams in three of the four quarters. Colorado State put up four more points in the second quarter than UNLV (14-10).
UP NEXT: The Lady Rebels will face No. 6 seed Boise State or No. 7 seed San Diego State in the Mountain West Championships on Wednesday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.