LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) — UNLV aims for its first regular season sweep of Boise State since 2013 when it visits ExtraMile Arena in Boise, Idaho, on Wednesday, Feb. 9. Tip off is 5:30 p.m. PT.

"They play really, really, really well at home," UNLV head women's basketball coach Lindy La Rocque said. "I don't know if its just the comfort of the home gym, but they seem to play a little bit harder. They get out in transition. They make more shots, and they're really connected.

"It's a place I've actually never been, so I'm excited to go."

The numbers back it up. Boise State has proved to be one of the toughest home court this season. The Broncos haven't won on the road in conference play but are 4-2 at ExtraMile Arena with its two losses--New Mexico and Fresno State--played within a possession until the final seconds.

And it won't just be the head coach in unfamiliar territory.  Of the current Lady Rebels, only Essence Booker (while at UNR) has played a game at Boise State.

The Lady Rebels have won eight straight games, a streak that leads the Mountain West and ranks 11th in NCAA Division I. It's UNLV's longest win streak since 10 straight wins in 2003-04.

A live video stream is available on the Mountain West Network. Live audio, featuring Wyatt Tomchek on play-by-play, can be heard at UNLVRebels.com. 

Following Wednesday's game, the first-place Lady Rebels are home for four, including the next three straight, of their final six regular-season games.

• All-time series vs. Boise State: Tied 12-12.
• Streak: UNLV won 2.
• First meeting: Dec. 20, 2006. Boise State won 76-63 in Las Vegas.
• Last meeting: Jan. 13, 2022. UNLV won 73-51 in Las Vegas.

Lady Rebels' last time out: UNLV 72, Utah State 60

• Desi-Rae Young scored 16 points and 15 rebounds and Justice Ethridge scored 16 to lead UNLV.
• It was the eighth consecutive win for the Lady Rebels, who overcame a sluggish start to sweep the season series with the Aggies, and gave UNLV outright claim to first in the Mountain West.
• 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.
• 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.

Start me up

• UNLV's 18-4 start is the program's best in 18 seasons.
• The 2003-04 Lady Rebels (26-8, 10-4 MW) reached 18 wins before suffering a fifth loss.
• The 2001-02 Lady Rebels (23-8, 9-5 MW) reached 21 wins before suffering a fifth loss.

Scouting Boise State

• Boise State takes care of business at ExtraMile Arena. Despite carrying a 4-7 conference record, Boise State has proved to be one of the toughest home courts.
• The Broncos haven't won on the road but are 4-2 at home versus the Mountain West, with its two losses (New Mexico and Fresno State) played within a possession until the final seconds.
• Expect a battle in the paint. UNLV and Boise State are 1-2 in the Mountain West in rebounding and free throw attempts. Boise State is also No. 2 in blocked shots.
• Brown graduate transfer Dominique Leonidas leads scoring with 11.2 points per game.
• Sophomore forward Abby Muse averages 10.1 points and 7.8 rebounds. Muse has nine double-doubles this season and four in her past five games.
• Third-leading scorer Elodie Lalotte returned to Boise State's lineup in their most recent game after missing three with  a concussion.
• Boise State is 7-1 when scoring 70 or more points and 19-2 over the last two seasons.

Setting records in the classroom

• The Lady Rebels finished the Fall 2021 term with a program record 3.44 team GPA.
• Six players — Essence Booker, Alyssa Brown, Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, Justice Ethridge, Jade Thomas and Taylin Smith — earned Dean's List distinction (for undergraduates only).
• Graduate senior Khayla Rooks crushed it in her first post-grad semester, earning a 3.80 GPA in cybersecurity studies.

NET effect

• UNLV hovers at No. 80 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, leading all Mountain West teams.
• UNLV 's position is about 10 steps higher than it was before defeating New Mexico on Jan. 27 and is 25 positions higher since conference play began.
• UNLV is one of 27 teams with a 9-1 or better record over its last 10 games.

A top 25 team

UNLV ranks in the NCAA's top 25 teams in five statistical categories:

• 17th, free throws made (320)
• 20th, rebound margin (+8.6)
• 21st, total rebounds (919)
• 24th, scoring offense (75.7)
• 22nd, win percentage (81.8 percent)

Free range

• Essence Booker ranks sixth among Division I players with a .923 free throw percentage.
• Booker's 14-for-14 free throw shooting against Boise State set a UNLV record.
• UNLV's single-season free throw percentage record is .889 set by Shari Netzel in 1988-89.
• Booker has an active strak of 27 consecutive made free throws (and 52 of her last 53), matching the longest such streak of her career set earlier this season. 

Strong second impressions

• Freshman point guard Kiara Jackson is getting comfortable in the Mountain West. In UNLV's last three games, having faced opponents for a second time, Jackson's performance has improved three-fold in most areas.
• Jackson has scored 9.0 points per game in the last three games versus 3.9 in the previous eight.
• She has also improved assists per game to 2.3 from 1.5 and steals to 2.0 from 0.4.
• She has also attempted 3.3 free throw attempts in conference revisits compared to 1.1 her first time through.

Half-life

• When the Lady Rebels need a second-half spark, they quickly look inside to their all-conference center.
• Desi-Rae Young scores 9.4 (60 percent) of her 15.6 points per game in the second half. 
• Young has reached double-figure scoring in a single half 14 times (five in a first half, nine in a second half) this season. She has also reached 10 or more points in a single period five times.

Brain matters

• Teammates consider graduate senior forward Khayla Rooks the on-court 'brain' of the team.
• Rooks makes the offense flow, counting 3.0 assists per game, second most on the team.
• Rooks' 2.2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fifth among Mountain West players and 35th among Division I players.