Aggressive Lady Rebels take UNR with 75-52 victory

Because so many opponents have played a 2-3 zone against UNLV, the Lady Rebels were far from surprised when UNR greeted them with that look Wednesday.

It’s a sound strategy given UNLV starts a 6-foot-1-inch and 6-4 front line, and it’s a tactic that has worked this season.

The Lady Rebels, though, made sure it didn’t work this time, attacking the zone by repeatedly getting the basketball inside and taking it to UNR for a 75-52 victory at Cox Pavilion.

UNLV (7-12, 4-4 Mountain West) took full control against UNR (6-12, 2-5) by scoring the final 10 points of the first half for a 40-22 halftime lead. The Lady Rebels shot 57.7 percent in the first half compared with 29 percent for the Wolf Pack.

That trend continued in the second half when UNLV scored eight of the first nine points — all on layups — to extend the lead to 48-23. UNR didn’t score a basket until Mimi Mungedi’s 3-footer just less than three minutes into the half, the Wolf Pack’s first field goal in 6:35.

UNLV ran its home record against the Wolf Pack to 16-0, and the Lady Rebels avenged a 71-62 loss at Reno on Jan. 7. Maybe winning so easily will provide the Lady Rebels with the kind of momentum they need down the stretch.

They next play a winnable game at Air Force (2-18, 1-8) on Saturday before returning home in a measuring-stick game against Colorado State (15-4, 7-1) on Feb. 7.

If the Lady Rebels play as well as they did against UNR, they should have a chance to win both games.

“If we compete with that intensity ... we can beat anybody in this conference,” UNLV guard Danielle Miller said. “I think we have dominating bigs.”

UNLV was aggressive all game, pounding the ball inside at every opportunity. It showed in the statistics, with the Lady Rebels scoring 42 points in the lane. Center Aley Rohde had 16 on 7-of-7 shooting to go with eight rebounds. Front-court mate Alana Cesarz scored 12.

“We’re a much better team when we attack the paint,” Rohde said.

But the Lady Rebels also made shots from outside, allowing them to open up the inside. Miller led all scorers with 19 points, making 7 of 11 shots, including 2 of 4 from the 3-point line.

“(UNR) played a lot of zone the last game, and we couldn’t hit our 3s,” UNLV coach Kathy Olivier said. “We hit a couple of 3s that opened up the middle. I thought we moved the ball much better this game. When we were up there, their zone really worked against us.”

Brooke Johnson’s 3-pointer with 4:32 remaining in the first half underscored what kind of night it was for UNLV, which made 52.6 percent of its shots. Her shot from the right corner hit high off the rim, bounced off the top of the backboard and fell through the hoop.

Given the Lady Rebels’ struggles entering this game — having lost three of four — they will take whatever breaks come their way. Not that they needed many against UNR.

“We needed it; we needed it,” Olivier said. “Reno hasn’t won a lot, but they cause a lot of problems.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.