Lady Rebels fall to Colorado in first round of WNIT
UNLV’s memorable season came to an end Thursday night after a 66-52 loss to Colorado in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colorado.
The upset-minded Lady Rebels (22-11) led late in the second quarter, but the play of All-Pac-12 Conference guard Kennedy Leonard proved to be too much. Leonard had a game-high 23 points, 17 in the second half, and five assists.
“She showed why she’s one of the best guards in the Pac-12,” UNLV coach Kathy Olivier said. “She made some shots to get going, and she plays at a fast pace and her team fed off that.”
UNLV’s last lead came at 21-20 with three minutes left in the first half. Colorado (16-15) led 27-21 at halftime and built its advantage to 14 points in the second half.
Brooke Johnson (14), Dakota Gonzalez (12) and Paris Strawther (11) scored in double figures for the Lady Rebels, who made their second postseason appearance in 11 years.
With no seniors on the roster, Olivier expects most of the team to return and contend for a Mountain West title next season.
“This is good experience for them,” Olivier said. “It’s not easy to win on the road for a postseason game, but they’ll get better. We have so many good players on this team, and that gives us an advantage for next year.”
UNLV reached the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament and won 22 games despite numerous injuries.
“We have had at least 10 lineup changes this year,” Olivier said. “They overcame so much and battled every game until the end. We relied on our captains, Brooke and Dakota, and we had so many other girls step up. It’s hard now, but we’ll get better.”
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.
