Upset bid stalls late as UNLV women fall to Arizona

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, March 19, 2022 | 10:50 p.m.

With just over a minute remaining in the third quarter of Saturday’s first-round NCAA Tournament game against Arizona, UNLV freshman guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas launched a high-arching 3-pointer that seemed to hang suspended in the air for a moment before banking off the backboard and splashing through the net to give the Scarlet and Gray a stunning 51-48 lead.

It was the exact kind of serendipitous shot that seemed to portend a Cinderella finish for the heavy underdogs, and UNLV closed the period on a 7-0 run to take a 53-48 lead into the fourth quarter. Just 10 minutes away from an historic win for the program, everyone on the UNLV sideline believed.

Belief is not enough, however, especially against a team as talented as No. 20 Arizona. Reality hit when Wildcats opened the fourth quarter on an 18-3 run to regain control of the game, and when the final buzzer sounded, fourth-seeded Arizona was moving on to the second round and UNLV was headed home.

Final score: Arizona 72, UNLV 67. No fairy tale ending.

Head coach Lindy La Rocque, who guided UNLV to a Mountain West championship in her second season at the helm, wanted her young team to learn from the painful loss and build on the experience.

“Obviously this one stings pretty bad, but we’re going to use it as fuel to the fire because this is where we belong,” La Rocque said. “I think we showed a lot of people that, too.”

UNLV certainly looked like it belonged for the first 30 minutes. With sophomore center Desi-Rae Young dominating the paint (16 points, 11 rebounds), UNLV shot 53.1% from the field and out-rebounded Arizona, 36-22. UNLV’s issues came when Young left the floor.

While Young posted a plus/minus of +6 in her 23 minutes, UNLV was -11 in 17 minutes without her. Once Young got into foul trouble in the second half — she eventually fouled out midway through the fourth quarter — Arizona took advantage.

It took UNLV nearly four minutes to score its first points of the quarter, and by that time Arizona had built a sturdy lead. The Wildcats’ advantage swelled to double figures with three minutes remaining, and that was the end of UNLV’s upset bid.

La Rocque praised Young’s performance against the bigger frontcourt of Arizona.

“She’s just a warrior,” La Rocque said. “She drew 10 fouls. She was making shots. She was getting banged. She’s relentless. Relentless. We talk a lot about doing whatever it takes, and Desi had that look in her eye of I’m going to do whatever it takes.”

Arizona also sported a decisive size advantage in the backcourt, and the Wildcats pressed the length of the court at every opportunity. With long-limbed guard Sam Thomas leading the defensive charge, they harassed UNLV ballhandlers into 19 crucial turnovers. Ten of those giveaways came in the fourth quarter as Arizona stormed ahead.

Junior point guard Essence Booker 12 points and five assists but also committed five turnovers in her 34 minutes.

“There were a few plays that we want back,” Booker said. “Our team is really good pushing in transition, but I feel like every time I did try to push in transition or Kiara Jackson did, there was someone in our face. So we had to zig-zag up the court trying to take care of the ball every second of the game.”

While Arizona’s rotation went 10 players deep, La Rocque only used seven (until subbing everyone out in the final minute once the game had already been decided).

That depth advantage allowed Arizona to press all game, and UNLV felt it.

“Their size and strength and athleticism I do think kind of wore us down,” La Rocque said. “It wore us down mentally, physically. Their guards are big, and for Essence and Kiara to have someone in your face 94 feet for 40 minutes, that’s exhausting.”

UNLV finishes the season 26-7, having claimed the Mountain West regular-season and tournament titles. And with most of the key players returning, the program should be poised for another run at an NCAA victory next year.

Booker, who was the Mountain West tournament MVP, believes that UNLV will be in a similar position next season.

All that’s left is to finish the story with a happier ending.

“We need [an NCAA Tournament] win,” Booker said. “We want to prove it’s not a fluke that we got here. Next year we’ve got to come out here and we’ve got to do the same thing. We’ve got to have another great season and we’ve got to try to get to the tournament, and we’re definitely going to get past Round 1.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.