Gone Dancin’: UNLV Lady Rebels Sweep Through Mountain West Regular Season, Tournament For Berth In NCAA Tournament
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher/Writer
The UNLV women are going dancing.
The Lady Rebels basketball team swept through the Mountain West undefeated in the regular season and then polished off the Wyoming Cowgirls, 71-60, in the conference tourney final Wednesday to cut down the net and punch their ticket to the national basketball tournament.
Wyoming had no answer for UNLV’s inside force Desi-Rae Young, the tournament MVP who picked apart the interior of the Cowgirls defense as she scored 28 points on 13 for 20 shooting from the field.
UNLV court general Essence Booker added 19 points and three-point sharpshooter Alyssa Durazo-Frescas was four of six from three-point land for a dozen points.
It looked like attendance was in the 3,500 range at Thomas & Mack Center, with an eyeball estimate of about 2,000 UNLV fans and another 1,500 Wyoming fans.
Women’s basketball has taken center stage in Las Vegas, where the Aces won the WNBA championship in 2022 and the UNLV Lady Rebels have qualified back-to-back for the NCAA women’s national tournaments in 2022 and 2023.
The Lady Rebels are 31-2, with losses only to Pacific and Oklahoma State in 33 games. UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque’s offensive sets were executed well, with Young finding good close-in looks at the basket, Booker directing traffic and Durazo-Frescas providing three-ball shooting.
With her team on a 22-game winning streak, LaRocque said. “This team was special. They just have a different bravado about them. They figured how to win a lot of games, a lot.”
Wyoming made a run with its three-point shooting in the third quarter and trailed by three points entering the fourth quarter, but UNLV “weathered the storm,” La Rocque said.
Asked about the team’s seeding in the NCAA tournament, La Rocque thought about the topic for several seconds, then decided to take a pass on commenting.
“See you wherever we go,” La Rocque said, ending the postgame presser.
