UNLV scored the first 16 points of the game and never looked back on the way to a 69-51 victory over UC Santa Barbara Saturday afternoon in the opening game of the Lady Rebel Round-Up at the Cox Pavilion. With their first win of the year, the Lady Rebels will now be looking for their second Round-Up title in the past three years in Sunday's championship game against Middle Tennessee, a 70-58 winner over Dartmouth.

Senior forward Jordyn Bell posted a career-high 17 points to pace the Lady Rebels, who played all 14 healthy players on the roster in the contest. UNLV dominated the boards with a 45-29 advantage, and held a 32-16 advantage on points inside the paint.

THE TURNING POINT: The Lady Rebels kept the Gauchos off the scoreboard for the first eight minutes of the game, opening up a 16-point advantage. That allowed UNLV to play almost the entire bench in the first half as the Lady Rebels were essentially on cruise control for the rest of the afternoon.

LADY REBEL OF THE GAME: Bell topped her previous career-best by one point after knocking down 7-of-13 from the floor. She also grabbed seven rebounds and added an assist as well.

STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV held a 26-6 advantage on points off turnovers after forcing 10 miscues by UCSB.

QUOTABLE:
"It was nice to get in the win column, we played hard, we came out really aggressive defensively, our defense created our offense, it was nice to get everyone in, we worked hard all week in practice and just need to continue to work hard to get better."
- UNLV head coach Kathy Olivier.

LADY REBEL NOTES:
* UNLV will play in the championship game of the Lady Rebel Round-Up for the fifth straight year. The Lady Rebels last won the Round-Up title in 2016 with a victory over Ole Miss.
* This will be the second-ever meeting against Middle Tennessee. The previous meeting was also in Las Vegas, an 85-82 overtime victory by the Blue Raiders on Dec. 6, 1997 in the Las Vegas Club Shootout.
* Joining Bell in double-figures in the contest was Katie Powell with 13. Both tied for the rebound lead with seven each.
* UNLV hit a season-high eight three-pointers in the victory. Two were from Powell, who has hit two three-pointers in all four games this season.

NEXT TIME OUT: UNLV will face the MTSU Blue Raiders in the championship game of the Lady Rebel Round-Up on Sunday at 2:30 pm, while Dartmouth and UCSB will play in the consolation game at 12 pm. The radio call for the UNLV game featuring Adam Candee and Wyatt Tomchek will be on StretchInternet, which can be accessed at UNLVRebels.com as well. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and staff, while kids 17 and under are free at UNLV Lady Rebel games. There is also a special Thanksgiving promotion for this weekend's tournament, as fans can receive half price admission with the donation of four canned food item