San Diego State outlasted UNLV 75-66 in overtime on Saturday, Jan. 17 at The Pavilion, handing the Lady Rebels their first Mountain West loss in a matchup that opened with both teams unbeaten in league play. UNLV rallied with a late 10-0 burst to force extra time, but SDSU’s execution and free throws in overtime sealed it.
Fast start, then a freeze
UNLV jumped out early and held a 15-13 lead after one, but the Lady Rebels had to grind for it once Aaliyah Alexander picked up her second foul and went to the bench.
Shelbee Brown lit the opening fuse with a steal and fast-break layup, and Aaliyah Alexander kept the pressure on with three early finishes at the rim before drilling a 3 that made it 13-5. But after Alexander picked up her second personal at 4:50, UNLV’s offense stalled, and SDSU used the opening to creep back behind paint buckets from Maria Konstantinidou and Alyssa Jackson.
Even so, UNLV stayed in front by living at the rim (12 paint points) and forcing three Aztec turnovers in the quarter.
Second quarter, messy but still in front
UNLV took a 31-30 lead into halftime, but it came with plenty of self-inflicted stress. The Lady Rebels committed six turnovers in the quarter and 10 in the first half, letting SDSU hang around even when UNLV had chances to create separation.
UNLV briefly found its footing when Destiny Leo hit a 3 off a Teagan Colvin assist at 9:45, and again when Meadow Roland buried a second-chance 3 at 5:53.
Mariah Elohim added another second-chance 3 at 1:45.
But the giveaways kept reopening the door. SDSU turned turnovers into points, including Kaelyn Hamilton’s jumper off a steal at 6:56 and Nala Williams’ 3 off a turnover at 3:12.
UNLV stayed afloat by winning extra possessions. The Lady Rebels grabbed five offensive rebounds in the quarter, and Brown came up with the last one that mattered. She cleaned up the final sequence with an offensive rebound and a putback layup at 0:04 to send UNLV into the break with the lead.
Aztecs catch fire, Rebels grind
SDSU flipped the game in the third quarter and took a 51-46 lead into the fourth, riding a barrage from the perimeter while UNLV struggled to string together stops and scores.
SDSU opened the half with back-to-back 3s from Nat Martinez at 9:47 and 9:18, then Naomi Panganiban followed with a triple at 6:22 to keep the pressure on. UNLV briefly answered behind Alexander’s interior work and a pair of baskets from Jasmyn Lott, but each push met another SDSU punch, including a 3 from Jackson at 5:17 and another Panganiban 3 at 4:40.
UNLV’s offense stayed mostly in the paint. Alexander scored seven in the quarter and Brown added a layup at 3:25, but UNLV went 0-for-1 from 3 and entered the final frame without a field goal in the last 3:04.
Fourth quarter, pure chaos
UNLV looked stuck in the mud for most of the quarter, then ripped off a 10-0 run in the final minute to flip the game on its head. Mariah Elohim buried a 3 to light the fuse, then Shelbee Brown jumped a passing lane for a steal and a layup as The Pavilion woke all the way up.
The ending somehow got weirder. With the score knotted late, SDSU’s Nat Martinez tried to lob an inbounds pass from near half court and hit the rim, giving UNLV the ball back. Lott then attacked downhill and was fouled, and the game stayed tight through a scramble of empty trips and rebounds.
In the final sequence, SDSU secured a third offensive rebound and drew a foul. Officials went to review, reset the clock to 1.3 seconds and ruled it a shooting foul. Kennedy Lee stepped to the line, but she missed both free throws, the first two misses of the night for SDSU at the stripe. UNLV used a timeout with 1.1 seconds left, couldn’t end it at the horn, and the teams headed to overtime tied 63-63.
Overtime, the run ran out
UNLV never found its footing in the extra five minutes, and SDSU took control with clean offense and timely stops to pull away 75-66.
The Aztecs scored 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting in overtime, getting six points from Bailey Barnhard on perfect 2-for-2 shooting and 4-for-4 at the line as SDSU lived in the paint and in transition. Nat Martinez added four points, including two free throws in the final seconds, as SDSU finished a 12-2 run over the last 3:41.
UNLV managed three points in overtime and went scoreless over the final 2:20. The Lady Rebels shot 1-for-5, missed both 3-point attempts and committed five turnovers, including a late offensive foul that snuffed out their last real chance to answer.
Up next for the Scarlet and Grey
UNLV stays home for a Mountain West matchup against Air Force on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 6:30 p.m. PT at The Pavilion in Las Vegas on the MW Network/SSSEN. After that, the Lady Rebels head to Reno for a road game at UNR on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m. PT on the MW Network. Next, UNLV goes back on the road to face New Mexico on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. PT in Albuquerque, N.M. on the MW Network.
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