UNLV Lady Rebels celebrate after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs, 66-49, to win the Mountain West Conference championship game at the Thomas & Mack Center Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Lady Rebels forward Alyssa Brown, the game MVP, is at upper center with Erica Collins (31).
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 | 11:03 p.m.
Someone needed to liven up the proceedings.
Moments after the UNLV women’s basketball team had won the Mountain West tournament for the third straight year, cut down the net at the Thomas & Mack Center for the third straight year, punched their ticket to the big dance for the third straight year, the postgame press conference started to take on a “same old, same old” vibe.
A 66-49 victory over San Diego State? Confetti? Tournament MVP presentations? It elicited a collective yawn from the winning team.
When asked about the challenge of climbing the mountain yet again, UNLV’s veteran champions seemed a little blasé.
“Personally, I feel like it feels the same,” junior point guard Kiara Jackson said.
“It was a little bit harder, but still the same,” junior forward Alyssa Brown said. “Blessed to be here.”
Senior forward Desi-Rae Young had a theory about why the three-peat was kind of been there, done that, and the MWC Player of the Year spoke her mind.
“I think it’s because we’re the best in the Mountain West,” Young said. “Nobody wants to compete with us. Every time somebody plays us, they give us their hardest game, but it’s not hard enough. We just go out there and we bust ‘em every time.”
Young was being a little facetious, and it worked, cracking up her teammates as well as head coach Lindy La Rocque, who was seated just a few feet away, trying to keep a straight face.
Young went on to lament that the title game couldn’t have been more of a barn burner.
“I wish that we played Colorado or Wyoming in the final game,” she said. “That would have been a little more exciting, but we had San Diego and that’s just how I feel about it.”
With that, Young relinquished the microphone and the players laughed all the way back to the locker room, where the celebration undoubtedly picked up.
La Rocque said that’s just the attitude Young brings to a UNLV team that has now won 15 consecutive games and is currently ranked No. 21 in the country.
“Desi is unapologetically herself, and you got a glimpse into that,” La Rocque said with a smile.
The players should be feeling themselves after outscoring San Diego State, 46-29, in the second half to blow open a game that had been tied at the break.
UNLV used an 11-0 run early in the third quarter to create some cushion. Young scored two post buckets during that stretch, and an Ashley Scoggin transition 3-pointer made it 34-24 midway through the period.
The Scarlet and Gray put it away with another 11-0 run to open the fourth quarter. Freshman guard Amarachi Kimpson and Brown sandwiched 3’s around another Young basket, and Scoggin again connected on a triple from the right wing off a perfectly executed inbound play. Jackson assisted on all three 3-pointers.
That extended UNLV’s lead to 53-37, and the three-peat was on.
Young turned in her best performance of the postseason with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six steals, while Jackson racked up 14 points and seven assists.
Brown finished with 11 points and nine rebounds and was named tournament MVP. She averaged 11.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in three tourney games while drilling 7-of-11 from beyond the arc, good for a scorching 63.6%.
UNLV will enter the NCAA Tournament on a 15-game winning streak, which is familiar, as they went into last year’s dance on a 22-game streak.
More of the same? Not according to La Rocque.
“Every year is a different journey,” she said. “The last two years were great, but this year was totally different. It’s a new team. You have to find your own path.”
The Scarlet and Gray will learn their path on Sunday, when their first-round opponent and location will be announced during the NCAA selection show; current projections have the them as a No. 8 or No. 9 seed.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
