UNLV Lady Rebels Fall Short Against No. 7 Baylor Bears

The UNLV Lady Rebels women's basketball team suffered their first loss of the season on Friday night, when they lost to the No. 7-ranked Baylor Bears by a score of 62 - 54. It was a tough loss for the Lady Rebs, who let the Bears pull away with a 19 - 5 fourth quarter. UNLV entered the fourth quarter with the lead, and this was a one-score game with just over one minute left in the game. While ultimately, the Rebels didn't get the results they were hoping for, they did prove that they belong out on the court with even the best teams in the country. There were nine lead changes in this hard-fought battle. This game could have swung either way late in the fourth, and that's something head coach Lindy La Rocque can build off moving forward.

It was the shooting that cost UNLV this game. They hung with them everywhere else. A big part of that was the Bears had a much larger presence in the paint with 11 blocks to zero for the Rebs. Senior forward Kiersten Johnson had five of those blocks. Baylor finished the game shooting 41% from the field, 29% from three, and 90% from the free-throw line, while the Rebels shot just 32% from the field, 23% from three, and 64% from the line.

Senior guard Jasmyn Lott led the Rebels with 18 points in this game, shooting 7 - 12 from the field, 2 - 4 from three, and hitting both of her free throws. Sophomore forward Meadow Roland struggled a bit on offense, but continued to find ways to contribute. While she only scored 13 points while going 4 - 16 from the field, she led the team in both rebounds and assists, with 11 boards and four helpers. Roland also came away with three steals.

It was Taliah Scott who was the star of the day for Baylor. She scored a team-high 23 points in this game and also led her team with five assists. Senior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs also played a big part in this victory. Late in the game, she was coming down with every big rebound. She finished with a team-best 12 boards and also added nine points, two assists, and a block. At the end of the day, the Bears were just able to make a few more plays and come away with a big win.

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