Content provided by UNLV Athletics.
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The No. 1 seeded UNLV women’s basketball team is onto the Mountain West Championship semifinals for the third consecutive season after completing comeback victory of 80-70 over No. 8 seeded Boise State on Monday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Lady Rebels will play on Tuesday, March 11 against No. 4 San Diego State in the semifinals.
The Lady Rebels (25-6) had three players in double-digits and were led by Amarachi Kimpson’s career-high 29 points. Kimpson shot 12-for-18 from the field, 3-for-6 from the three-point line and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Aaliyah Alexander was the second-leading scorer on the squad, putting up 14 points, and she also led the squad in assists with three. Kiara Jackson was the third Lady Rebel to score in double-figures, collecting 13 points. Alyssa Brown led the squad in rebounds bringing down 10 boards.
The Broncos (18-15) aso had three players score in double-figures and were led by Tatum Thompson’s 25 points. Abby Muse recorded a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Dani Bayes had 17 points for Boise State, respectively.
FOURTH QUARTER COMEBACK: Heading into the final 10 minutes of play, the Lady Rebels were down by two possessions. However, right from the start of the fourth, Kimpson hit back-to-back buckets to get UNLV within one, 55-54. Boise State then sank both of its free throws to take a three-point lead. Jackson then scored back-to-back baskets which included the bucket to put UNLV on top 58-57. Tatum Thompson of Boise State then put up a layup to give the Broncos back the lead, 59-58. Although the Lady Rebels went up by three, 62-59, Thompson scored four points of her own to put Boise State up by one, 63-62. Abby Muse tied the game with a layup, 66-all, before Alexander made a three-point play to keep UNLV on top, 69-66. With 2:55 left to play, and the Lady Rebels were only up by one, UNLV went on a nine-point scoring run to take a double-figure lead, 78-68 and never looked back.
QUOTEABLE: “Tremendous credit to Boise State. Gordy (Presnell; Boise State head coach) is someone that I really admire and how he’s coached for a really long time. If I can win as many games as he has in his career, then I will be very happy. He does a tremendous job. His team played so inspired and frankly they played very, very well. I say that all because then it makes me extremely proud of our group. The resilience, the toughness, the togetherness that it took to pull out this win was tremendous. A lot of things did not go our way today from missed layups to just plays that we normally make, just to step off defensively, and got outrebounded. You can kind of go down the line. But frankly, we had more points. We found a way to win, and I think that’s the heart of this team all year long is, they find a way. I had to challenge them late in the game. We hadn’t been in this position. And frankly I thought they looked nervous. I had to change it and take that from them. They responded and they went out there and made plays,” said head coach Lindy La Rocque.
OTHER NOTES:
- UNLV has now won 10 straight MW Tournament games, tied for the second-longest win streak in the tournament’s history.
- The Lady Rebels won all three meetings against the Broncos this season, which includes two comeback victories.
- There were six lead changes and five times that UNLV and Boise State were tired.
- UNLV won the paint 36-30.
- The Lady Rebels forced 17 Broncos’ turnovers and scored 14 points off them.
- Boise State out-rebounded UNLV 43-35.
UP NEXT: The Lady Rebels will play on Tuesday, March 11 against No. 4 San Diego State in the MW Championship semifinals.
Copyright 2025 KVVU. All rights reserved.
