Lady Rebels take first loss of season: ‘This adversity will be good for us’

The UNLV women’s basketball team exited the court after its first loss of the season Tuesday as Arizona freshman Lauryn Swann banged a giant victory drum in front of 7,221 fans at McKale Memorial Center in Tucson.

It was an exponentially larger crowd than the Lady Rebels have seen all season, and they gave the fans and the Wildcats a run for their money throughout the 75-66 defeat, which wasn’t decided until late in the fourth quarter.

“This adversity will be good for us to learn from and continue to be better. These are the games that we want to play in, that our program deserves to be in,” UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque said. “I thought our team fought their hearts out.”

La Rocque knew it wasn’t going to be an undefeated season for UNLV (2-1). She scheduled games against teams such as Tuesday’s Big 12 opponent to better prepare the three-time Mountain West champions for the postseason. The Lady Rebels have been to three straight NCAA Tournaments without winning a game.

Though UNLV beat the Wildcats 72-53 in Las Vegas last season, both teams look different now.

Sophomore Amarachi Kimpson led the Lady Rebels with 14 points and four assists, continuing to show promise in a starting role after winning Mountain West Sixth Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year last season.

Senior Kiara Jackson was UNLV’s only other player to score in double figures, adding 12 points and a team-high five assists.

Swann put up 19 points in 19 minutes for the Wildcats (4-0). Sophomore guard Jada Williams add 15 points and six rebounds, while sophomore forward Breya Cunningham recorded 12 points and nine boards.

The thriller had six lead changes and four ties. UNLV shot 39.7 percent from the field (25-for-63) and 30.4 percent from the 3-point line (7-for-23).

The Lady Rebels ended the first quarter trailing by a point, but ended the second quarter on an 8-0 run to enter halftime with a 36-32 lead.

Turnovers made an early difference. The Lady Rebels scored 13 points off turnovers in the first half, while Arizona only notched six.

UNLV opened the third quarter with another steal, as Aaliyah Alexander handed Arizona its 14th turnover but couldn’t convert it to points after she was rejected at the rim by Skylar Jones.

A few plays later, Isis Beh made a layup to end a five-minute scoring drought for Arizona.

Senior forward Alyssa Brown connected for her first 3-pointer of the season at the 6:52 mark of the third quarter, increasing UNLV’s lead to 43-36. The Tucson native did it in front of at least 30 friends and family.

Macie James made a layup on the next possession to give the Lady Rebels their biggest lead of the game at 45-36. The basket was assisted by freshman Meadow Rowland, who was once again UNLV’s leading rebounder with seven.

Arizona entered the fourth quarter at a 50-46 deficit, but retook the lead for good at the 7:57 mark after a 3-pointer from Swann.

Free-throw shooting was a problem for UNLV. The team had a chance to cut the deficit to two with five minutes remaining, but Jackson missed a foul shot.

The Lady Rebels were 64.3 percent from the free-throw line (9-for-14), but Arizona made 88.9 percent of its foul shots (16-for-18). In the second half, the Lady Rebels were 4-for-8 from the line, while the Wildcats were 8-for-10.

Arizona outscored UNLV 29-16 in the fourth quarter. A 3-pointer from Williams to give the Wildcats a 71-63 lead with 30 seconds left was the dagger, and Swann followed up with back-to-back layups.

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.