The UNLV women’s basketball team played with a chip on its shoulder Wednesday, despite being the top team in the Mountain West.

That was especially true for senior guard Kiara Jackson, who scored a career-high 27 points as she led the Lady Rebels (20-5, 12-1) to a 75-65 win over San Diego State (17-9, 6-7) at Cox Pavilion.

The victory avenged a 59-58 loss at San Diego State on Jan. 27, UNLV’s sole defeat in conference play this season.

Although the Aztecs scored the first four points Wednesday night, Jackson made sure the Lady Rebels didn’t trail for long.

“It just feels good to get that win and show them that the first time was a fluke,” Jackson said.

She and her teammates had been waiting for the rematch as soon as they were able to review that previous nail-biter against the Aztecs.

“Watching that film back, you could tell: We were not there. We weren’t being ourselves,” Jackson said.

Jackson said the directive was clear entering Wednesday’s game.

“We need to go out there and prove to them that we’re still the top team, and that they can’t play with us,” she said.

UNLV, after going down 4-0, got a jumper in the paint from guard Aaliyah Alexander and a 3-pointer from Jackson to take a 5-4 lead. The Lady Rebels never trailed again. Jackson had 14 points and four assists by the end of the first quarter to help UNLV build a 26-19 lead.

The Lady Rebels had three other players score at least 10 points. Forward McKinna Brackens had 13 points and six rebounds. Guard Amarachi Kimpson had 12 points and six rebounds, while forward Meadow Roland added 10 points.

Guard Veronica Sheffey, who hit a driving layup at the buzzer in the first meeting between the two teams, led the Aztecs with 20 points Wednesday.

Winning the war

San Diego State didn’t make things easy. The Aztecs went on multiple scoring runs to cut into the Lady Rebels’ lead.

San Diego State scored nine unanswered points in the second quarter to cut the deficit to five points. Kimpson responded with two free throws to give UNLV a 42-35 lead at halftime.

The Lady Rebels withstood another run in the third quarter. They build a 17-point lead, but the Aztecs scored 12 straight points to go into the fourth quarter trailing 59-54.

UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque said she was pleased with her team’s perseverance after it closed out the win.

“We could have easily folded,” La Rocque said. “(We) had a big lead. They cut it back down. And, you know, I trust (my team), they trust me, and they go out there and make plays.”

History, physicality

Wednesday’s game was also a rematch of the 2024 Mountain West title game, which the Lady Rebels won to secure the conference crown for the third season in a row.

The two teams are plenty familiar with one another, and it showed. There were 33 total fouls in the game, 19 by San Diego State and 14 by UNLV. The Lady Rebels shot 20 free throws, while the Aztecs shot five.

“They’re a veteran team. They’ve got like, three or four seniors out there that have played against our three or four seniors for a long time,” La Rocque said. “So I think we know each other well, personally as much as professionally — as opponents. And so I think you can see some of that physicality going up against each other, and that’s all in good spirit.”

That physicality was felt inside. Jackson said she knew she needed to shoot well because it would be tough to score in the paint. UNLV ultimately outscored San Diego State 32-28 in the paint.

The Lady Rebels next play at UNR on Saturday.

Contact Callie Fin at [email protected]. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.