Courtesy of UNLV Athletics –
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV Lady Rebels battled the entire 40 minutes of play against Creighton, but fell 87-73 in the NCAA First Round at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday evening.
Desi-Rae Young was a force to be reckoned with right from the jump as the senior center led the Lady Rebels (30-3) with 30 points by shooting 15-for-19 from the field. Young’s 30 points is the most scored by a Lady Rebel in the NCAA Tournament and her 15 made field goals also is the most for UNLV in the NCAA Tournament. Kiara Jackson tallied 16 points by shooting 7-for-14 from the field, 2-for-4 from behind the arc and dished out six assists, which was the most for UNLV in the NCAA Tournament.
Creighton (26-5) had three players in double-figures as Lauren Jensen led the way with 25 points. Emma Ronsiek put up 23 points while Morgan Maly added 16 points.
Single-game NCAA Lady Rebels Tournament records were broken today 😎💪 pic.twitter.com/eVlcmuF12X
— UNLV Lady Rebels (@UNLVLadyRebels) March 24, 2024
BIG PICTURE: UNLV held its own in the first quarter, tying the game three different times and was only down by single-digits, 23-16 going into the second quarter. The Bluejays built a 10-point lead in the second quarter halfway through, but a seven-point scoring run for the Lady Rebels put them right back in it and cut the deficit to four, 36-32. Creighton then scored eight straight to get their double-digit lead back 44-32 as they headed into the break. The Bluejays then began to start to take over following the break and continued to drain three-pointers, which held their double-digit lead for the rest of the game.
QUOTABLE: “This one loss doesn’t sour an incredible season. To win 30 games in back-to-back years is really special. Really, really special, and it’s really hard to do. I’m incredibly proud of our group. Again, just the daily commitment that that takes, they don’t understand it. They probably hate me for it on the daily, but they’ll look back and really appreciate and realize just how special our season was. Tonight we came up short, and so we’re disappointed and sad more than anything because we don’t get to practice tomorrow. But it’s just been such a joy to coach this team, these players. These two next (Desi-Rae Young and Kiara Jackson) to me are our captains, our leaders. They poured their hearts out on the court tonight, and I couldn’t ask for more and better people to be able to coach. Then we’ve got a whole locker room of players and people that are just great humans first and good basketball players that trust and believe in me and this program and do anything that I ask. Yeah, we’re sad, but have to recognize and appreciate just a phenomenal year.” – Lady Rebels head coach Lindy La Rocque.
OTHER NOTES:
- Young joined the 2,000 career points club and is the one of two Lady Rebels ever in program history to reach the feat.
- UNLV shot 32-for-63, which tied the single-game Lady Rebels NCAA Tournament field goal record.
- The Lady Rebels won the paint party 46-24.
