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LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Five Lady Rebels were in double-figures as UNLV defeated LMU 73-57 at Cox Pavilion on Monday night in the 2024-25 season opener.
Aaliyah Alexander made her UNLV debut and led with 16 points as she shot 6-for-8 from the field and 2-for-3 from the three-point line. Kiara Jackson put up 14 points and dished out a team-lead six assists. Amarachi Kimpson collected 13 points in her first career start for the Lady Rebels. Meadow Roland also made her UNLV debut and earned her first collegiate double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lions were led by Brandi Williams’ 14 points and Maya Hernandez’s 10 points.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Lady Rebels had a five-point lead at the half, and came out in the third quarter firing. Right out of the break, UNLV increased the lead to double-digits, 39-29. As LMU tried to close the gap with back-to-back layups, UNLV went on a 10-point scoring run to close out the quarter 51-36. The Lady Rebels stayed ahead the rest of the contest and led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter with less than three minutes left to play.
“I’m really proud of our group and it’s nice to get the first one under our belt. We had a great crowd tonight and that’s always fun to play in front of. We got everyone in the game and we had five people in double figures. Every person did something really great. Aaliyah (Alexander) had her first game here in a Lady Rebel uniform and she showed why we brought her here. I’m very proud of our group, it wasn’t our best game by any means but that’s not expected in game one. We did a lot of positive things and still have more things to work on and improve on and we’re going to do that,” said UNLV head coach Lindy La Rocque.
OTHER NOTES:
- UNLV dominated the paint scoring 44 points compared to LMU’s 20.
- The Lady Rebels out-rebounded the Lions 36-32.
- There were four lead changes and five times UNLV and LMU were tied.
- The Lady Rebels shot 50.0% (30-for-60) from the field compared to the Lions’ 40.8% (20-for-49).
- Freshmen Teagan Colvin and Elli Guiney each made their collegiate debuts against LMU. Colvin picked up her first career points in a Lady Rebels uniform on two made free throws.
- Prior to the game, the Lady Rebels revealed the 2024 Mountain West Championship banner and had a championship ring celebration.UNLV is now 4-1 in season openers under La Rocque.
UP NEXT: The Lady Rebels will host Education Day against NAU on Thursday, November 7 at The Thomas & Mack Center. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m.
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