Lady Rebels advance to Mountain West tournament semifinals

UNLV women’s basketball coach Lindy La Rocque didn’t panic when the Lady Rebels trailed by seven points in the first quarter Monday against Utah State.

“You’re never going to win the game in the first five minutes, (and) for the most part, you’re never going to lose the game in the first five minutes,” she said after her top-seeded team rolled past the No. 9 Aggies 82-69 in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.

A year ago, UNLV was the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, but a poor first quarter led to a quarterfinal loss against Wyoming. La Rocque called the experience “unsettling.”

But this is a different team. The Lady Rebels led by one after the first quarter and 11 at halftime to advance to the semifinals, where they will play No. 5 Air Force at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The Falcons eliminated No. 4 UNR 75-60.

“The best thing that happened is we won the game,” La Rocque said. “That’s how you have to continue to advance at this point of the season.”

The Lady Rebels (24-6) hit only two of their first 10 field goals, even though they had great looks. But that changed when forward Nneka Obiazor entered the lineup.

Obiazor, named the Mountain West Sixth Player of the Year on Sunday, made an immediate impact. Her energy in the paint and tenacious rebounding sparked the Lady Rebels, who scored 15 points in the final five minutes of the first quarter. Forward Khayla Rooks’ floater in the lane as time expired gave the Lady Rebels a lead they never relinquished.

“We really needed that on the court, and we love (Obiazor) coming in and scoring right away,” Rooks said. “She’s definitely a big part of our offense.”

UNLV then pulled away from the Aggies (11-19) in the second quarter. Guard Essence Booker found a groove on offense, but the defense was the difference after La Rocque went to a full-court press that forced Utah State into nine of its 15 turnovers.

“We just had to make adjustments,” Booker said.

That surge was all the Lady Rebels needed as they won their first tournament game since 2017.

Obiazor had team highs of 20 points and nine rebounds, seven of them offensive. Four other players scored in double figures for the Lady Rebels, who scored 24 points off turnovers and 18 points on second-chance possessions.

“Half the time, I’m just trying to get her to calm down,” La Rocque said of Obiazor. “That might help her a little bit, but she was huge for us. … She’s a bruiser.”

Air Force (18-12) is up next for the Lady Rebels, who defeated the Falcons 72-54 and 83-67 in the regular season.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.