RENO, Nev. (UNLVRebels.com) —
Justice Ethridge scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half to lead the Lady Rebels from a 12-point deficit to victory over UNR Saturday at the Lawlor Events Center.
UNLV (15-4 overall, 7-1 Mountain West) rallied past UNR (12-5, 4-1) 78-75, handing the Wolf Pack its first defeat in conference play and first home loss to the Lady Rebels since 2017.
"I'm proud of our toughness," UNLV head coach
Lindy La Rocque said. "We stuck with the game plan and, even though I didn't think we played all that well on defense for three quarters, we did enough to keep ourselves in it."
Desi-Rae Young had a game-leading 19 points with 17 coming in the first half as the all-conference center kept the margin tight as UNR took advantage of six 3-pointers and 50 percent field goal shooting over the first 20 minutes.
"Desi carried us in the first half, offensively, and then we had a bunch of people step up when we needed it.
"Justice played great defense all night and then just exploded on offense in the second half."
UNR led 41-37 at halftime.
The Wolf Pack opened the third period on a 13-5 run before La Rocque called timeout to reset her defense. UNLV added baseline-to-baseline pressure, effectively changing the momentum of the game.
Essence Booker drew two shooting fouls as the Lady Rebels scored 5 unanswered after the pause. Then Ethridge corralled a long rebound and buried a 3 to end a 5-0 response by UNR as the duo combined for 16 points in the period.
Ethridge used
Khayla Rooks' screen to race ahead of her defender for a layup and swished a 3-pointer on the next possession to tie the game 63-63 with 6:41 to play in the fourth.
Kiara Jackson scored five consecutive points, converting an and-1 layup and scoop shot, to put the Lady Rebels up 3.
Ethridge stole UNR"s sideline inbounds for a fast-break layup to make it 74-68.
UNR's Da'Ja Hamilton reached the free throw line for 2 and Amaya West, who scored 13 for the Wolf Pack, cut UNLV's lead to 74-72 with a layup off a halfcourt set during a called timeout.
The Wolf Pack set up a full-court press, but
Nneka Obiazor caught her defender sleeping, and raced into UNLV's half court to catch a lob for an easy 2 to seal the victory.
Booker finished with 17 points.
Nneka Obiazor totaled 13 points and six rebounds off the bench.
UNLV's win sets up a showdown between the No. 1 and No. 2 in the Mountain West as the Lady Rebels host New Mexico on Thursday, Jan. 25, at Cox Pavilion.
HOMECOMING:
Essence Booker scored 17 points, 11 in the second half, in her first game at Lawlor Events Center where she played for the Wolf Pack in her first two collegiate seasons.
SIXTH SENSE:
Nneka Obiazor scored in double figures for the ninth time in 10 games. Obiazor is the only non-starter ranked in the Mountain West's top 20 for scoring and rebounding.
START ME UP: UNLV's 15-4 start is its best since the 2003-04 squad (26-8 overall, 10-4 Mountain West) also started 15-4.
BOARDING SCHOOL:
Khayla Rooks set a season high and matched a career high with 10 rebounds.
