Top-seeded Lady Rebels earned their 21st-straight win, knocking off San Diego State 71-68 and advancing to the Mountain West Conference Championship game for the second year in a row.
It was a riveting game. And now, the team will face the Colorado State–Wyoming winner on Wednesday.
It was a huge night for our hometown trio Justice Ethridge, Essence Booker and Desi-Rae Young. This group combined for the 57 of the team’s 71 points. Booker was 13 for 14 from the free throw line, and Young was able to hit another double double, which helped the team score 20 points and 13 boards.
The UNLV Lady Rebels are back in action on Thursday March 9 for the championship game inside the Thomas & Mack Center at 7 p.m. as they await the winner of Wyoming and Colorado State.
An 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter was secured by the Lady Rebels. However, the Aztecs pulled to 60-59 with 1:15 remaining. Booker scored six of the Rebels’ next nine points and pushed the lead to 69-62 with 22 seconds left.
Sophia Ramos and Abby Prohaska hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get the Aztecs within one before Booker’s two free throws capped the scoring with six seconds remaining.
Young was 7-of-15 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds. Justice Ethridge added 15 points for the top-seeded Rebels.
Ramos scored 17 points to lead fifth-seeded San Diego State (23-10). Abby Prohaska added 15 points, Yummy Morris had 14 and Kim Villalobos 10.
UNLV held an 11-point lead with 8 minutes to play but watch the lead slowly disappear as the Aztecs heated up from long range.
San Diego State hit five of six 3-point attempts to close within 1 late in the game. But a little too late Kiara Jackson blocked Ramos’ 3-point attempt to seal the victory.
The Rebels advanced to the semi finals by making a strong statement, Blowing out their in-state rivals UNR 84-47 out scoring UNR’s bench 25-4 also forcing 17 turn overs. Las Vegas will get to watch their native daughters play on their home court one more time.
Congratulations to our UNLV Lady Rebels!
Top 7 HBCU Colleges In The Country
7. Morgan State
Designated by the state as Maryland’s preeminent public urban research university, Morgan State University – founded in 1867 – has more than 140 academic programs. MSU’s campus, which is centered in northeast Baltimore but spans more than 185 acres, was named a National Treasure in 2016 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, according to its website.
6. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Founded in the 1890s, the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is a national university that is among the top producers of Black engineers, according to the university’s website. Well-known alumni include civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson and Michael Regan, who was nominated by President Joe Biden to be the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
5. Florida A&M
Classes began at the State Normal College for Colored Students with just 15 students and two instructors when the school was founded in 1887, according to the university’s website. Now known as Florida A&M University, it has been recognized for its pharmacy school and is known as a leading institution in awarding bachelor’s and doctoral degrees to Black students. Well-known alumni include Wimbledon champ Althea Gibson, Olympic gold medalist Robert “Bullet Bob” Hayes and Fox Sports reporter Pam Oliver.
4. Morehouse College
Founded in the basement of a Baptist church in Augusta, Georgia, in 1867 and later moved to Atlanta, Morehouse College is the only all-male HBCU in the country. Martin Luther King, Jr. graduated from the institution in 1948. Morehouse has also produced five Rhodes scholars.
3. Hampton University
Hampton University was founded in 1868 as the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. In addition to its mission to educate Black students, Hampton also welcomed 70 previously incarcerated Native Americans in 1878, sparking an educational program that served the American Indian population for more than 40 years. Notable alumni include Booker T. Washington, a renowned educator, speaker and author who founded and presided at Tuskegee University in Alabama until his death in 1915.
2. Xavier University of Louisiana
Xavier University of Louisiana is a top producer of Black medical school applicants, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Founded as a high school in 1915, the New Orleans university is the nation’s only Catholic HBCU and annually produces more Black graduates who go on to medical school than any other university in the nation, according to the school’s website. Xavier counts former U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin among its graduates.
1. Howard University
Founded in 1867, Howard University spans more than 250 urban acres in the nation’s capital and Maryland. The university has 13 schools and colleges and is home to the country’s first Black-owned public television station, WHUT, according to the school’s website. WHUR, the campus FM radio station, is among the few commercial radio stations owned by a university, per the school’s website. Howard’s many notable alumni include U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and actress Taraji P. Henson.