Jasmyn Lott, a UNLV redshirt senior from Frisco Memorial High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, led all scorers with 21 points on nine of 15 shooting from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UNLV Lady Rebels came into San Antonio with a modest record, one game above .500 after seven games in the new season.

They left town after putting on a performance that was more in keeping with their dominance of the Mountain West Conference over the past four years.

UNLV held the UTSA Roadrunners to two points in the first quarter, built a lead as large as 34 in the fourth and then went on to record a 66-39 victory at the Convocation Center.

UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque directed her team to its first road victory of the season and broke UTSA’s 17-game homecourt winning streak. – Photo by Joe Alexander

In snapping UTSA’s 17-game homecourt winning streak, the Lady Rebels out-rebounded the defending American Conference champions 50-33 and limited them to 28 percent shooting.

“We talked all week about being road tough, and I thought we did a great job coming out from the jump,” UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque said.

La Rocque praised her team for “playing with a purpose” and executing the game plan. Also, for playing with a physical style.

Two of the most physical players were forwards Meadow Roland and Shelbee Brown, who dominated down low defensively.

Roland finished with 14 rebounds and three blocked shots. Brown had 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive end.

UTSA forward Cheyenne Rowe, the Roadrunners’ leading scorer, took only one shot attempt in the first quarter and misfired on it as UNLV ran off to a 20-2 lead.

The two points tied a six-year-old UTSA school record for fewest in a quarter.

Rowe finished with nine points on four of 14 shooting from the field. UTSA’s other inside scoring threat, Idara Udo, scored six while being pestered into a two-of-eight showing.

UNLV forward Meadow Roland contributed a game-high 14 rebounds and also three blocked shots. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s perimeter players also struggled.

Guard Jayda Holiman, who had scored in double figures her last two games, went scoreless. She finished zero for five from the field and zero for three from behind the arc.

As a team, UTSA hit only 17 of 61 afield and two of 17 from three.

“Give UNLV credit,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “I thought they were really good tonight.”

After the initial push by the Rebels, the Roadrunners put up a good fight for awhile, staying within 17-20 points of the visitors until midway through the third quarter.

But after that, the game started to get out of hand. Lott nailed a jumper for the final points of the third period and added two threes to open the fourth.

A few minutes later, Rebels guard Aaliyah Alexander buried a three with 7:33 remaining, boosting UNLV into its largest lead of the game, 59-25.

UTSA forward Cheyenne Rowe finished with nine points and seven rebounds. She was held to four of 14 shooting from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

It was a humbling experience for the Roadrunners, who have no time to waste as they prepare to play on the road Sunday against the 14th-ranked Baylor Bears.

“We’ve got a long way to go this season,” Aston said, “so we have to figure out how to take something away from this to get better, but also kind of flush it and start all over and say it was a rough night.”

Udo said the Roadrunners need to “play more together as a team” and to “be more together in fighting back.”

She said UNLV deserves credit, but she added, “I think a lot of the stuff that hurt us was a lack of effort.”

In the past four seasons, UNLV has emerged as one of the better mid-major programs in the nation.

From 2021-22 through the 2024-25 seasons, the Lady Rebels compiled a 113-21 record, with four regular-season, Mountain West titles and three trips to the NCAA tournament.

Though they fell short of an NCAA bid last year, they reached the second round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament en route to a 26-8 record.

UTSA coach Karen Aston had a long night as the Roadrunners failed to score 40 points for only the second time in her five seasons at the school. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners also won a title last year in the American, reached the WBIT and lost in the first round to finish 26-5.

Records

UNLV 5-3
UTSA 3-4

Coming up

UTSA at Baylor, Sunday, 2 p.m.

Notable

UTSA’s two-points in the first quarter tied a school record for fewest in one period. The Roadrunners scored two at the University of Hawaii on Nov. 22, 2019 in a 62-50 loss.

As for the 39-point total, it ranks as the second fewest points by a Karen Aston-coached team at UTSA. On Jan. 15, 2022, in Aston’s first season, the Charlotte 49ers beat the Roadrunners 58-33 at the Convocation Center.

The school record for fewest all time is 30, which was done twice, the last time coming on March 5, 2020, in a 69-30 home loss to the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters.

First half

With a punishing defense, the UNLV Lady Rebels opened a 34-17 halftime lead.

They built the lead in the half to as large as 23-2 early in the second before UTSA started to find traction. For UTSA, Cheyenne Rowe, Damara Allen and Idara Udo each had four points by halftime.

But the points didn’t come easily as the Roadrunners shot a meager 22 percent for the half.