UNLV women routed by No. 2 Stanford
Even with the Thomas & Mack Center almost completely empty, UNLV women’s basketball coach Lindy La Rocque said Saturday’s game felt like it was on a bigger stage than normal.
That’s what happens when a team gets a home game against a team like No. 2 Stanford. But La Rocque, a former Stanford player and assistant coach, wasn’t overly pleased with how her team rose to that challenge.
The Cardinal opened the game on an 11-0 run and maintained control from start to finish in a 101-54 victory.
“I think we could have put forward a better effort,” La Rocque said. “They’re definitely the No. 1 team in the country, and you’re going to see that next week in the new rankings, but I was more concerned about us. I wanted to see us do some different things, give a better effort and show some improvement, so I was a little disappointed.”
Stanford shot 57.3 percent from the floor to 26.9 for UNLV, controlled the boards 46-31 and dominated in the paint 68-14.
UNLV will have a week off before starting Mountain West play with two games at home against Wyoming on Dec. 12 and 14.
Stanford (2-0) will open Pac-12 play Sunday against Washington at the Thomas & Mack Center, and a win will likely propel the Cardinal to No. 1 in the rankings after top-ranked South Carolina lost to No. 8 North Carolina State earlier this week.
Nia Johnson made her first three 3-point tries and led UNLV with 12 points and five rebounds. Bailey Thomas and Desi-Rae Young added 10 points apiece for the Lady Rebels (1-2), who were 8 of 34 from 2-point range and didn’t have a basket inside the arc until 5:15 left in the second quarter.
Haley Jones had 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead Stanford. Fran Belibi had 15 points and seven rebounds, and Lexie Hull added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinal.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.
1. ‘Just great to play’
La Rocque said she had mixed emotions when Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer asked if she wanted to play. She was excited to see her former coach and some others that had been there during her time as a player and rise in the coaching ranks.
After the Lady Rebels’ game against Utah Valley State that was set for Saturday was canceled, UNLV and Stanford were both looking for a game and La Rocque decided to give the Cardinal one.
“Tara calls me late Tuesday night and says, ‘Hey, we’ll go anywhere to play a game,” La Rocque said. “Do you want to play? I was like, ‘Well, ideally, I don’t want to play you, but if it means getting a home game and helping them out, (let’s play). It was just great to play.”
2. Responding to runs
After the Cardinal went on an 11-0 run to start the game and a 14-0 spurt to begin the third quarter, the Lady Rebels punched back.
They matched Stanford 9-9 for the remainder of the first quarter despite making only one field goal. In the third quarter, UNLV went on a 13-0 run of its own and outscored Stanford 19-6 over a span of five-and-a half minutes.
“My message to the team is going to be if you can make those moves and score on the No. 1 team in the country, you can score on anyone,” La Rocque said. “But we need that execution for 40 minutes, not just a three-minute stint. We put that together and we’ll be all right.”
3. Aggressiveness pays off
One area UNLV can take as a positive is staying aggressive and taking the ball to the basket, which was rewarded with a 20-for-29 night from the free-throw line.
“Part of our plan was to challenge their defense, and I’m proud of our ability to get to the free-throw line,” La Rocque said. “I’d like to shoot a little better of a percentage, but we did much better in the second half.”
Stanford was 7-for-11 from the free-throw line.
Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2936. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.
