LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Facing a top-two ranked team for the first time in over 35 years, UNLV knew it would be a tough challenge Saturday afternoon, as the young Lady Rebel squad dropped a 101-54 contest to No. 2 Stanford in the Thomas & Mack Center. The game was just scheduled this week after both teams had their original contests for this weekend canceled.

UNLV brought the fifth-youngest team in the nation into the contest and that inexperience showed at the start, behind by 11 after the first quarter while making just one field goal in the opening 10 minutes. Stanford meanwhile, a team that stands to overtake the nation's top spot following a loss by top-ranked South Carolina, shot over 50% in every quarter including two of at least 60% field goal percentage.

Despite facing a 26-point deficit at halftime, the Lady Rebels came out and matched their first-half scoring with 21 points in the third quarter topped by a 15-6 UNLV run to end the period. In a quarter that saw UNLV apply defensive pressure, senior Bailey Thomas followed up a three-pointer with a steal and layup and freshman Desi-Rae Young converted a three-point play in the post as part of an 11-0 run during the Lady Rebels' most productive quarter. Stanford would respond with a 28-12 margin in the fourth to close out the victory.

THE TURNING POINT: Stanford jumped out to an early 20-9 lead in the first quarter after shooting 52.9 percent as a team. Junior Nia Johnson helped keep the Lady Rebels afloat in the opening quarter, as she scored more than half of UNLV's points with five on a three and pair of free throws during the squad's lowest scoring quarter of the season.

STAT OF THE GAME: The Cardinal had a commanding 68-14 advantage inside the paint, as the taller Stanford squad would connect on 35 of its 51 attempts from inside the three-point range. UNLV did make up a little for that huge disadvantage inside by taking 18 more trips to the line, finishing the game 20-of-29 at the charity stripe.

QUOTABLE: "Well, I definitely know their playbook like the back of my hand, and unfortunately because I had some of the same sets, they knew exactly our whole playbook too. Preparation is one of Tara's biggest keys and so I expected that. I think, honestly, it probably caught our team a little off guard, but that's part of the game. I think we could have put forth a better effort, to be honest. But they're by far the number one team in the country, and you're going to see that in the next rankings." - UNLV Head Coach Lindy La Rocque

UNLV NOTES:
*- Johnson paced the Lady Rebels with a career-high 12 points, her first double-digit scoring output for the Scarlet & Gray.
* - Freshman Desi-Rae Young gave the UNLV offense a boost coming off the sidelines with her third straight 10-point effort from the bench. She leads a bench crew that has averaged 25.6 points per game in three contests.
*-Senior Bailey Thomas also contributed double-digit scoring for the third straight game, as she mirrored Young with 10 points to give the Lady Rebels three double-digit scorers on the afternoon.
*- Stanford was the highest ranked team to play UNLV since a 95-64 loss to No. 2 Texas on Dec. 8, 1984, in the championship game of the UNLV/7-Up Desert Classic. 
*- The 101 points scored by Stanford is the most given up by the Lady Rebels since a 103-63 loss to No. 5 Mississippi State on Dec. 20, 2017.
*- The game was a reunion for UNLV head coach Lindy La Rocque, as she both played for the Cardinal from 2009-12 and was also an assistant coach for Stanford from 2017-20 before taking over as UNLV head coach in March of this year.

NEXT TIME OUT: UNLV remains in Las Vegas as it opens Mountain West play with a two-game series against Wyoming. The first contest will be played on Saturday, Dec. 12, while the second meeting will be Monday, Dec. 14. Both games will tip-off at 1:30 pm in the Cox Pavilion.