LARAMIE, Wyo. (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV women's basketball team fell 71-66 in the regular season finale at Wyoming on Wednesday evening at Arena-Auditorium.
 
Amarachi Kimpson led the Lady Rebels (24-6, 16-2 MW) with 24 points by shooting 9-for-16 from the field, 2-for-4 from the three and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Aaliyah Alexander was the second-leading scorer on the night with 12 points, as she shot 5-for-10 from the field, 1-for-2 from long range and was 1-for-1 at the charity stripe. Meadow Roland came off the bench and scored 11 points for the Scarlet & Gray. Alyssa Brown brought down 10 rebounds, which led the team.
 
Wyoming (20-10, 14-4 MW) was led by Malene Pedersen who had 27 points and Emily Mellema's 17 points. Allyson Fertig also had a double-double of 16 points and 19 rebounds.
 
STAT OF THE GAME: The Lady Rebels and Cowgirls exchanged the lead 10 times throughout forty minutes and were tied three times.
 
BACK-AND-FORTH: The Cowgirls held the lead after the first 10 minutes of play, 22-16, but the Lady Rebels countered in the second quarter and took a 36-34 lead heading into halftime. Following the break, UNLV held a 51-49 lead going into the final quarter. In the fourth quarter, Wyoming scored five points to start and took a 55-51 lead with 7:53 left to play. UNLV closed the gap to one, 55-54 on three straight free throws. The Lady Rebels and Cowgirls went back-and-forth and Kimpson scored a layup and three-pointer to get UNLV within one, 62-61 with 2:03 left to play. A 9-5 run for Wyoming closed out the game and held onto the win.
 
OTHER NOTES:

• The Lady Rebels defeated the Cowgirls in the paint scoring 30 points compared to 26.
• UNLV forced 11 Wyoming turnovers and scored 12 points off them.
• Wyoming out-rebounded UNLV 36-30.
• The Cowgirls dished 20 assists.
• The Lady Rebels were 9-for-11 (81.8) from the free throw line compared to the Cowgirls' 9-for-16 (56.3).

 
UP NEXT: The Lady Rebels will stay in town for the Mountain West Conference Tournament at the Thomas & Mack beginning on Sunday, March 9. UNLV is the No. 1 seed heading into the tournament and will have a first-round bye and play on Monday, March 10 at 12 p.m. against the winner of No.8 Boise State vs. No. 9 UNR.