Courtesy of UNLV Athletics –
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV Lady Rebels are on to round two of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament after defeating Hawai’i 63-46 in the first round on Thursday evening at Cox Pavilion. This marks the first postseason win since the 2003-04 season when UNLV made a championship run in the WNIT.
The Scarlet & Gray (26-7) had three players in double-figures and were led by Meadow Roland who dropped 16 points off the bench. Roland shot 7-for-13 from the field, 1-for-2 from the free throw line and sank one three-pointer. Amarachi Kimpson was the second-leading scorer on the night, putting up 14 points. Macy Spencer came off the bench as well and collected 10 points by shooting 3-for-6 from the field, 2-for-2 from the charity stripe and drained two three’s. McKinna Brackens led the squad in rebounds with 12 boards (four offensive, eight defensive).
The Rainbow Wahine (22-10) had two players in double-digits and were led by Lily Wahinekapu’s 18 points. Brooklyn Rewers was the second-leading scorer with 10 points and led Hawai’i in rebounds with four.
THIRD QUARTER RUN: The Lady Rebels went into the half with a seven-point lead, 27-20, and started the third quarter with their best scoring run of the game. Right out of the break, UNLV went on a 12-2 scoring run to go up by double-figures at 39-22 and never let up. The Scarlet & Gray closed out the third quarter with a 15-point lead, 44-29.
QUOTABLE: “First, congratulations to Hawai’i on a tremendous season. They did the hard thing, similar to us, winning the regular season and then came up short in the conference (Big West) tournament. We definitely know how that feels. They’ve won five of their last eight championships. Just a tremendous program. They are going to be a familiar opponent here soon and I’m excited for that because Coach (Laura) Beeman does a great job. I’m really proud of our group, in particular our rebounding effort and we out-rebounded them. I think everyone can see how big they are and to out-rebound them by 21, that’s won us the game. It eliminated their second chance points, and it gave us some second chances offensively. They are a very good defensive team. I look at 63 points and I’m like that didn’t feel that great offensively, but it got the job done. To hold Hawai’i under 50 points is pretty good for our group.” said head coach Lindy La Rocque.
OTHER NOTES:
- The Lady Rebels out-rebounded the Rainbow Wahine 47-26.
- UNLV dominated the paint and scored 28 of its 63 under the hoop.
- The Lady Rebels bench out-scored the Rainbow Wahine’s bench 26-16.
- UNLV dished out 14 assists and were led by Alyssa Brown and Kiara Jackson each having four.
- Roland had two blocked shots against Hawai’i.
- UNLV is now 35-16 all-time against Hawai’i.
UP NEXT: The Lady Rebels will host round two of the WBIT on Sunday, March 23 as the Florida Gators will come to town. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Cox Pavilion.
