SAN JOSE, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) —
Alyssa Durazo-Frescas scored a career-high and game-leading 24 points to power UNLV over San Jose State 74-54 Wednesday night at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
Durazo-Frescas hit six 3-pointers and
Desi-Rae Young collected her sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
UNLV (14-4 overall, 6-1 Mountain West) captured its fourth straight victory and ended a three-game skid in the series versus San Jose State (3-13, 0-5), which it did not play last season due to the Spartans' opting out of play because of COVID-19.
The Lady Rebels had to rally from an 8-point deficit in the second period. San Jose State jumped to a 27-19 lead before UNLV clamped down on defense and forced back-to-back turnovers to ignite an 11-2 run to finish the half.
"I felt like, in lot of ways played the same and just executed better in the second half," UNLV head women's basketball coach
Lindy La Rocque said. "If we make a few more layups, just get a couple of easy things to go and in the first half it could have felt different, but it felt hard.
"The start of the second half, obviously, was huge just to get momentum going our way."
Essence Booker added 13 points with 11 coming in the second half as part of 9-0 and 8-0 runs that the Lady Rebels used to put the game out of reach after leading 30-29 at halftime.
"Desi had a couple of layups that might go in nine times out of 10, and these just bounced out. Essence did a great job attacking the rim and drawing some contact, and just didn't have the finish. We get a few more of those to go our way and the lid comes off the run a little sooner."
Booker and
Justice Ethridge drew shooting fouls before Booker found Durazo-Frescas wide open for the first of three consecutive 3-pointers the freshman guard would make in the second half.
Durazo-Frescas faked a 3 and pulled up for a 17-footer before burying a 25-footer on the next possession to give UNLV an 11-point advantage 30 seconds into the fourth period.
UNLV next visits Nevada on Saturday, Jan. 22, before hosting New Mexico at the Cox Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 27. The schedule matches the Lady Rebels against the second- and first-place teams, respectively, in the Mountain West standings.
LEND A HAND:
Justice Ethridge followed a season-high 18-point performance with just 4 against the Spartans, but owned the team highest plus/minus (+18) after distributing a career-high four assists in her 29 minutes on the court.
FREE PARKING:
Essence Booker's consecutive free throw streak ended at 25 straight makes after missing her third attempt in Wednesday's game. Booker finished the game 7-of-8 from the line.
DUCK HUNT: UNLV's contrasting field goal percentages from the first half to the second spelled doom for the Spartans. The Lady Rebels shot 28 percent in the first half, making 11 of 40 shots, but improved to 47 percent in the second half, hitting 14 of 30.
MILESTONE: With 13 points tonight,
Essence Booker needs 36 to reach 1,000 career points.
START ME UP: UNLV's 14-4 start is the program's best in 18 seasons. The 2003-04 Lady Rebels (26-8, 10-4 MW) reached 15-3 before suffering a fourth loss.
