LOGAN, Utah (UNLVRebels.com) — The Lady Rebels haven't been this good since its players were in diapers.
UNLV (18-4 overall, 10-1 Mountain West) uprooted Utah State (7-15, 2-10) 72-60 to match its best start to a season since 2003-04. It was the eighth consecutive win for the Lady Rebels, who overcame a sluggish start to sweep the season series with the Aggies.
"We knew it was going to be a battle," UNLV head women's basketball coach
Lindy La Rocque said. "I'm proud of our effort, proud of our poise."
Desi-Rae Young totaled 16 points and 15 rebounds and
Justice Ethridge also scored 16 to lead the Lady Rebels.
UNLV slogged through the first period, shooting 27 percent, while Utah State's Laci Hawthorne carved up the Lady Rebels' defense for 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Hawthorne was a replacement in the Aggies usual rotation and thrived early in the contest.
"We had to adjust a little bit. In the second half, we just did a better job. We had some people step up and make some great contributions."
Utah State led 32-29 at halftime. The Lady Rebels shot 33 percent in the first half but came out of the locker rooms inspired, hitting 10 of 18 field goal attempts over the next 10 minutes.
Young drove through a contested layup and then assisted an
Alyssa Durazo-Frescas jumper to fuel a 14-4 scoring run saw UNLV up 45-38. Utah State ripped the lead back, but Young poured in eight points during an 8-minute, 21-7 run that UNLV used to run away in the fourth.
Utah State's Adryana Quezada had 17 to lead all scorers. Hawthorne would hit just one of her next five field goal attempts and finish with 13 points.
UNLV's
Essence Booker scored 13 points. Durazo-Frescas and
Nneka Obiazor each contributed 8.
"Sometimes it doesn't always look good," La Rocque said, "but if you finish with more points, you take the 'W', learn from it and get better.
"It felt wild, that's a little of how they play. For us to come back and do what we do and stay calm in those situations, that will benefit us down the road."
UNLV, now in sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Conference, visits Boise State on Wednesday, Feb. 9.
SHOOTING STAR:
Essence Booker made both of her free throw attempts Saturday, extending her consecutive free throws made streak to 27. It's the longest such streak of her career. Booker had a streak of 25 makes earlier this season.
STREAKING: UNLV's eight-game winning streak is the program's longest since a 10-game streak in 2003-04.
MORE STREAKING: UNLV has now won 10 straight games against Utah State and leads the overall series 29-4.
CASTLING:
Khayla Rooks returned to the starting lineup after sitting the last two games with a foot injury. Rooks scored five points, all during a 14-1 third quarter run as UNLV turned a 37-31 deficit into a 45-38 lead in just over 5 minutes.
WIN, LOSE OR DRAW: Freshman guard
Kiara Jackson sealed the Lady Rebels' victory in the middle of the fourth period, drawing shooting fouls on consecutive possessions and banking the free throws for 4 points, including the eventual game decider, to give UNLV its largest lead of the game at 15 points (64-49; 4:48, 4th).
