Late run lifts Lady Rebels to opening win at Oral Roberts

UNLV began its play opener Tuesday nighttime by pushing the hoops wrong to physique an aboriginal 12-point lead.

And erstwhile the Lady Rebels trailed successful the 4th quarter, they went backmost wrong to trigger a game-changing tally and bushed Oral Roberts 85-81 successful Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“It was a carnal game, and they person large station players, but we bash arsenic well,” UNLV manager Lindy La Rocque said. “They were pressuring america and being carnal connected the perimeter, truthful we had to onslaught the basket.”

Essence Booker scored 21 points to pb 4 Lady Rebels successful treble figures. Desi-Rae Young, who went retired concisely successful the 3rd 4th with an ankle injury, finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Keni Jo Lippe led Oral Roberts with 21 points.

UNLV trailed 71-67 erstwhile it went connected a 12-2 tally to instrumentality the pb for good. Eight of those points came connected layups and the remainder connected escaped throws.

It was akin to however the crippled opened erstwhile the Lady Rebels made their archetypal 9 shots by repeatedly beating Golden Eagles players to the basket. UNLV led arsenic overmuch arsenic 19-7 and made 7 of 9 layups successful the archetypal quarter.

Oral Roberts surged backmost by either keeping UNLV from the handbasket oregon forcing hard shots erstwhile the Lady Rebels got close. In the 2nd 4th alone, the Lady Rebels missed each six layups and changeable 3 of 15 wide arsenic Oral Roberts took a 39-37 halftime lead.

UNLV recovered a mode successful the end.

“It was gritty,” La Rocque said. “It was tough. It wasn’t pretty, but possibly those archetypal 2 minutes. And aft that, it was a full dogfight.

“It takes a afloat squad effort, particularly connected the road.”

Contact newsman Mark Anderson astatine manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 connected Twitter.