By W.G. Ramirez
Special To UNLVRebels.com

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The Gonzalez Twins.

For those who don't know them, it's the brand they've been labeled.

For those who know better, Dylan and Dakota Gonzalez are the genuine article.

The twin sisters, birthed separately by a mere 10 minutes, are sophomores for the UNLV Lady Rebels. And as they prepare for Wednesday's game against Boise State, a program they grew up watching while living in nearby Pocatello, Idaho, both know the priority the next two weeks is to help the Lady Rebels build momentum for the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

The Lady Rebels are in sixth place in the Mountain West standings. The top five teams receive first-round byes, so the team's final three games of the regular season are crucial for UNLV.

Dakota Gonzalez leads the team with 14.0 points per game, while Dylan Gonzalez averages 4.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest.

Together, though, they've added life to a team that already boasted one of the most talented returning quartets in the conference: Brooke Johnson, Nikki Wheatley, Aley Rohde and Amie Callaway.

"They bring a different desire and pride to the program and I think people are connecting with that and love that. It just makes us that much better," UNLV coach Kathy Olivier said. "They come in, practice, they work their tails off, they're workers, they're passionate about the game. Everyone's adjusted and everyone's having fun now."

Which may not have been the case early on with so many personalities, with the dynamics of a Lady Rebels team that has seen all five starters lead the squad in scoring in a game this season. Dakota Gonzalez has led the Lady Rebels in scoring in 9 games this season, followed by Johnson, who has been the top scorer six times. They've tied as the team's top scorers twice.

Olivier has done her best to blend her dichotomy of talent, considering more people know the Gonzalez twins because of their social media following, rather than their on-court talents. While, at times, something like that can be a distraction, the sisters have done their best to shed light on the UNLV program since arriving from Kansas.

"Coming to Vegas has definitely been one of the best decisions we've made basketball-wise," Dakota Gonzalez said. "We feel so loved by the coaching staff, and you really can't ask for better people. That's really what we came searching for was that coaching staff that was going to take care of us as individuals, aside from basketball, as people and as basketball players as well."

For Dylan Gonzalez, the move may have saved her career, as she admits before arriving in Las Vegas she was losing her motivation on the court.

"I'm very happy with our decision ... I do feel we came somewhere it's very family oriented and I feel very comfortable and I don't feel I have to hate the game," Dylan Gonzalez said. "I remember at one point I started losing that passion, I started losing that love and I didn't want to play anymore.

"Getting to come here, and getting to find that love again has been just an incredible experience."

It wasn't easy, however, as the beloved tandem knew they'd need to prove themselves on the court - both in practice and in games - showing those who had been here they wanted to make the Lady Rebels their top priority.

"I almost feel like people see this image, this brand of us and that's where it stops - we're just a brand," said Dylan Gonzalez, who missed much of her freshman season at Kansas due to injury and had to sit out last year. "But we're people too. Some people make it seem like I don't care about basketball and I was really offended by that because they don't see all the work I put in, they don't see the person behind the Instagram.

"It's been a tough season for me, but this is like my first year of really getting to experience college basketball on this kind of level. So I'm trying to take it as a growth year and just find my rhythm, find my game, get comfortable again and just keep working hard. That's the one thing I know how to do and put a lot of effort out there."

As the team's leading scorer, the transition obviously has seemed better for Dakota Gonzalez. But underneath her stellar game, bright eyes and big smile, she too has a soft, vulnerable side, like most college student-athletes who are playing away from home.

"I think what has been so difficult is that people are only capturing a glimpse of our life," Dakota Gonzalez said. "They're only catching like 15 to 20 percent of what actually goes on and what we're actually doing. They just take whatever they want from these images and then run with it, whether it's good or bad.

"It becomes hurtful because we almost get to a point where we work and we work and we work and we work, and even when we see positive results for ourselves, it's never going to be good enough. Someone will always have something negative to say. I think, as people that's where we've really grown and have tried to just let that be and let it go, because that was something we really struggled with in the beginning, was people confining us in this Instagram, and not realizing we're people with feelings.

Both Gonzalez twins credited one another, as they're inseparable and each other's best friends, and have been the key components in growing as college athletes. It was no surprise that in separate interviews both Dakota and Dylan Gonzalez had similar answers about what they admire about one another, and an identical answer about each other's biggest idiosyncrasies.

Dakota Gonzalez said she admires her sister's persistence and fight, which lights a fire when she's on the court, or in down times, while Dylan Gonzalez said her sister's mental toughness inspires her to stay focused when she's not feeling up to snuff.

The twin idiosyncrasy: stubbornness.

And Olivier is hoping both Gonzalez sisters will be stubborn and hard-nosed against the team's last three opponents with plenty on the line, and it begins with a team they'd love to get revenge on - Boise State - after losing in front of friends and family in Idaho, on Jan. 27.

"Not only is it Boise, but they're also a very, very good team," Dylan Gonzalez said. "At this time of the season it's anybody's game, no matter who you're playing. You could be playing No. 1, you could be playing No. 11. It doesn't really matter. But I think when it comes to Boise, when it comes to us, we do still have that loss in our minds, so we're coming into this like we're ready for a different result in round two."

Said Dakota Gonzalez: "Going up and playing in Boise was something we were really looking forward to just because of our family and that really being close to home. I think with them coming back here, I think we're still looking forward to this game just because it is Boise and we know so many people out there. Having home court advantage is going to be huge for us and we're excited to get to play them here and understanding we play our best defense at home. This win is really important for us."