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LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV Lady Rebels have received the No. 2 seed in the 2025 Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament and will host Hawai’i on Thursday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Cox Pavilion for the first round of the tournament. This marks the fourth consecutive season the Scarlet & Gray are in the postseason and marks the first time in the WBIT, which is only in its second year of play.
ABOUT HAWAI’I: UNLV is 34-16 all-time against Hawai’i and the Lady Rebels won the last meeting between the two squads 76-66 in Hawai’i. The Scarlet & Gray have won the last three of five contests. The Rainbow Wahine head into Thursday’s game with a 22-9 overall record and are coming off a 51-49 loss to UC San Diego in the Big West Championship Semifinals. Lily Wahinekapu is the leading scorer for UH, averaging 11.2 points per game. Ritorya Tamilo is the leading rebounder for the Rainbow Wahine, bringing down 5.1 per game.
LAST FIVE MATCHUPS VS. HAWAI’I
- Dec. 11, 2022 – UNLV won 76-66 in Honolulu
- Dec. 21, 2021 – UNLV won 70-63 in Las Vegas
- Dec. 19, 2018 – Hawai’i won 66-61 (OT) in Las Vegas
- Nov. 23, 2014 – Hawai’i won 79-70 in Honolulu
- Dec. 30, 2010 – UNLV won 63-48 in Honolulu
SQUAD LEADERS: UNLV currently has four players scoring in double-figures and are led by Amarachi Kimpson with 14.2 points per game and in field goals made with 5.2 per game. Kiara Jackson is the second leading scorer who is averaging 12.6 points per game and leads the Lady Rebels in assists with 4.9 per game. Alyssa Brown leads the squad in rebounds, bringing down 7.8 per game. Meadow Roland is second for the Lady Rebels in rebounds with 6.0 per game.
BROADCAST INFO: The game will be live on ESPN+ with play-by-play announcer Wyatt Tomchek and color analyst Kevaney Martin on the call.
LAST TIME ON THE COURT: The No. 1 seeded UNLV Lady Rebels fell 71-59 in the Mountain West Championships semifinals to No. 4 seeded San Diego State on Tuesday evening at Thomas & Mack Center. The Scarlet & Gray had three players score in double-figures and were led by Alyssa Brown’s 15 points. Brown shot 4-for-9 from the field, made three three-pointers and was 4-for-5 at the charity stripe. Kiara Jackson was the second-leading scorer with 14 points, while Amarachi Kimpson put up 10 points, respectively. McKinna Brackens led the squad in rebounds, bringing down 10 boards.
THREE’S A CHARM AGAIN: After completing the four-peat Mountain West regular season title for only the second time in league history and first in UNLV history, the Lady Rebels were honored for their accomplishments by the conference’s coaches tying a school-record for the second consecutive season, and earned three MW best of the year honors, the league announced Sunday. Head coach Lindy La Rocque was named MW Coach of the Year for the third time in her five seasons at the helm and Meadow Roland was named the league’s Freshman and Sixth Player of the Year. This is the second time in program history that a Lady Rebel has earned Freshman and Sixth player of the year in the same season. This marks the second straight year the Scarlet & Gray collected Freshman and Sixth Player of the Year. UNLV has now collected four straight Sixth Player of the Year nods and a combined five Freshman of the Year nods. La Rocque is the first coach in MW history to be named Coach of the Year three times in just her first five seasons, and marks the second time in program history UNLV has collected three Coach of the Year accolades. In addition, senior Kiara Jackson and sophomore Amarachi Kimpson were selected to the All-Mountain West team. Senior Alyssa Brown picked up All-Mountain West honorable mention and All-Defensive team accolades and Roland was also named to the All-Freshman squad.
FOUR-PEAT MW REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS: The Lady Rebels secured the No. 1 seed for the Mountain West Basketball Championships and the regular season title for the fourth straight year. UNLV defeated Boise State 83-53 to clinch and move to 15-1 overall in the MW standings. This marks the first time in program history the Scarlet & Gray claimed the MW regular season title and the second time in MW history and first time since Colorado State’s four-peat in 2014-17.
WHAT UP SQUAD?: The Lady Rebels return 10 of the 14 players from its 2024 championship squad, including two starters and Mountain West Sixth Player and Freshman of the Year Amarachi Kimpson. UNLV added two freshmen guards Teagan Colvin and Elli Guiney, and junior transfer Aaliyah Alexander from Eastern Washington.
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