LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) —
Lindy La Rocque handed the keys over to
Kiara Jackson for a test drive. The sophomore point guard blasted the music and ignored the speed limit.
UNLV (11-2 overall, 1-0 Mountain West) secured a 73-67 over Wyoming (7-5, 0-1) victory in its conference opener Thursday at the Cox Pavilion.
Jackson scored 11 of her game-high 20 points in the final 5 ½ minutes to lead the Lady Rebels' fourth-quarter comeback. It was Jackson's second straight 20-piece as she started in place of
Essence Booker for the first time in her career.
"She may be quiet and unassuming on the court but she's a killer," UNLV Head Coach
Lindy La Rocque said. "She's put in a lot of work and it's paying off."
UNLV watched a 12-point lead evaporate as Wyoming shot perfectly from 3-point range (4-4) and the free-throw line (7-7) in the third period. The Cowgirls led 54-47 after Grace Ellis connected on a layup to begin the fourth.
"That's what conference play is—no lead is safe. Honestly, I'm a little glad we had some of that adversity tonight.
"We pride ourselves on finishing. We didn't have the third quarter we wanted or were expecting. But when the game is on the line, you've really got to have the toughness to finish."
The Lady Rebels closed the gap to 1 following 3-pointers from
Kenadee Winfrey and
Alyssa Durazo-Frescas. Jackson then scored the go-ahead bucket on a fast-break layup and-1 that swung the momentum back to the home side.
Winfrey drew an offense foul from Tess Barnes and Jackson popped a jumper to extend UNLV's 14-2 scoring run. Back-to-back field goals from Quinn Weidemann and Barnes closed the margin to a single point but Jackson had one more trick up her sleeve. The guard dribbled the inbounds pass from baseline to baseline, driving in on Alyson Fertig before taking a step-back jumper over the 6-foot-4 center.
Justice Ethridge snared the rebound from Barnes' 3-point attempt on the next possession and the Lady Rebels held off the Cowgirls at the free-throw line for the remaining 30 seconds.
Though Jackson proved to be the show's closing act, UNLV's frontcourt curbed Wyoming's size advantage throughout the Mountain West premiere.
Desi-Rae Young forced Fertig into early foul trouble and UNLV's post players held their counterparts to 7 points on 2-of-9 field-goal shooting.
Young scored 13 points and led all players with eight rebounds and four steals. Ethridge added another 13 and Winfrey scored 11.
UNLV hosts its presumed challenger for the Mountain West title when Colorado State visits Saturday. Tip-off is 3 p.m.
