COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (UNLVRebels.com) -  Freshman Desi-Rae Young scored nine of her team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning three-point play as UNLV overcame a poor shooting night to claim a 52-49 victory Friday night in Mountain West women's basketball action from Clune Arena. The Lady Rebels remain perfect on the road this season (4-0) and improved to 9-7 overall, 7-4 in league play.

UNLV only held a lead for three minutes of the game, after struggling from the floor over the first three quarters, when it shot just 12-of-43 from the field for 28%. The host team meanwhile jumped out to an 18-14 first quarter lead after shooting 42% (8-of-19) in the quarter, and kept a four-point edge going into halftime. The Lady Rebels slowly cut into the lead, and briefly took a one-point lead in the third thanks to going 8-10 at the free throw line in the third. The third ended with Air Force holding onto a 39-38 advantage.

THE TURNING POINT: Air Force stretched the lead back to six points twice in the fourth, the second at 46-40 with 6:08 to go in the game. UNLV then closed down on defense, allowing just one field goal the rest of the way, while Young converted three straight layups around a Falcon free throw to close UNLV within 47-46. Air Force broke a 47-47 tie in the final minute with a layup. Again Young answered the call, scoring down low while drawing a foul with 40 seconds on the clock. She converted the free throw, giving UNLV a 50-49 advantage. Air Force would come up scoreless on its next two possessions, while Bailey Thomas sank two free throws to account for the final three-point margin.

LADY REBEL OF THE GAME: Young was just one rebound away from a double-double, as she shot 5-of-9 from the floor and grabbed nine rebounds while sinking five free throws at the line as well.

STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV held the Falcons to just 4-of-18 shooting in the fourth quarter for 22.2%, and 30.9% (21-of-68) overall for the contest.

QUOTEABLE: "I'm not sure how we ended up with more points but I'm glad we did, although we have to be better offensively and defensively. We could just never get in rhythm, and you have to give Air Force credit for that. They got us off guard, and we could never get it going but we stayed in the game, got some good contributions off the bench in Jacinta (Buckley) and Anna (Blount), and then obviously Desi had some very clutch plays there at the end. Proud of our effort in spurts but our team is unhappy with our play and that's a good thing, we will learn lessons from this. We have another tough game here on Sunday so we have to make some adjustments to come out of here with two wins." - UNLV head coach Lindy La Rocque

LADY REBEL NOTES  

* - UNLV has now won 16 straight in the all-time series against the Falcons, improving to 45-5 overall.

* - This was the first time all season UNLV had just one player in double-figures. Nia Johnson was the next highest scorer with nine.

* - UNLV, the top rebounding team in the Mountain West, held a 14-7 rebounding edge in the third quarter and 47-45 overall. The Lady Rebels also held an 11-4 advantage on second-chance points.

* - UNLV won despite hitting a season-low two three-point shots after coming in averaging over eight a game.

* - The Lady Rebels shot 17-of-54 from the floor (31.5%), and 16-of-25 (64.0%) from the charity stripe.

* - This was the fewest points scored by UNLV in a victory since a 52-50 win at Gonzaga on Dec. 9, 2017.

NEXT TIME OUT: UNLV plays the second game of the Air Force series on Sunday at 12 pm.