Live coverage: Arizona pulls away late, eliminates UNLV 72-67

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Saturday, March 19, 2022 | 5 p.m.

Updated Saturday, March 19, 2022 | 9:01 p.m.

UNLV's upset bid came up short, as Arizona pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 72-67 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Scarlet and Gray took a surprising 53-48 lead into the fourth quarter, but the team's lack of depth became a factor as Arizona pressed the tiring underdogs and opened the fourth with an 18-3 run. That served as the knockout punch, and 4th-seeded Arizona will be moving on while 13th-seeded UNLV heads home.

Desi-Rae Young played a strong game, but foul trouble limited her in the second half. She finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds but played just five minutes in the fourth quarter before picking up her fifth foul. Essence Booker finished with 10 points and five assists.

Arizona's defense proved to be the deciding factor, as the Wildcats forced UNLV into 19 turnovers. At the other end of the floor, Arizona committed just seven turnovers, and all those extra possessions added up over the final 10 minutes. Arizona's lead grew as high as 12 points and UNLV did not threaten down the stretch.

UNLV finishes the season with a 26-7 record; Young and Booker will return next season for the defending Mountain West champions.

UNLV, Arizona coming down to final minutes

UNLV is going cold at the wrong time, and with 4:44 remaining Arizona has edged ahead, 57-56.

After finishing the third quarter on a 7-0 run, the Scarlet and Gray were held scoreless for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter while Arizona used an 8-0 run to pull ahead. A Khayla Rooks free throw finally broke that spell, and Essence Booker knocked down a baseline jumper with 5:37 left to tie the game at 56-56.

The bad news for UNLV is that center Desi-Rae Young picked up her fourth foul and had to head to the bench; Young has been UNLV's best player today with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Arizona will have a pair of free throws after this timeout. Can UNLV get stops down the stretch and make enough shots to pull this one out?

UNLV takes 53-48 lead into fourth quarter

Upstart UNLV closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run, and they'll head into the fourth with a shocking 53-48 lead over Arizona.

Alyssa Durazo-Frescas provided a real underdog moment by banking in a long 3-pointer in the final minute of the quarter, and Desi-Rae Young scored a post bucket to finish off the run. Young now has a 16 points and nine rebounds, both team highs.

Arizona's offense shifted to the perimeter in the third, but they made just 1-of-7 from 3-point range in the quarter.

Can Lindy La Rocque's underdogs close this one out?

Underdog UNLV tied with Arizona in third quarter

UNLV continues to hang around, and with 4:40 left in the third quarter we are tied in Tucson, 42-42.

Both teams are shooting the lights out since halftime, as Arizona is 5-of-8 from the field and UNLV is 4-of-7. UNLV finally connected from 3-point range, with Justice Ethridge and Durazo-Frescas each nailing a long-range shot.

Desi-Rae Young continues to be UNLV's most productive player, as she's got 14 points and seven rebounds. Point guard Essence Booker has yet to get going, however, with four points on 2-of-4 shooting; she does have a team-high three assists.

A high-scoring game might favor UNLV, which has played run-and-gun all season, but Arizona is the deeper team. As it stands now, it looks like this game could go either way.

Arizona closes half strong, leads UNLV 31-29

After playing a superb first half, UNLV went cold over the final 2:34, allowing Arizona to close on a 6-0 run. At the break, the Wildcats now lead, 31-29.

The Scarlet and Gray are shooting a robust 53.8% from the field, but seven turnovers have clipped their production. They are also 0-of-3 from the 3-point range. Arizona is shooting 42.9%, but they've made three 3-pointers and have only committed three turnovers.

Nneka Ebiazor has provided an offensive boost off the bench, scoring 10 points in 14 minutes. Center Desi-Rae Young has nine points and six rebounds but only logged 11 minutes.

Arizona guard Shaina Pellington has proven troublesome for the UNLV defense, driving for 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

If UNLV can take better care of the ball in the second half and mix in a few 3's, there may be an upset brewing here in Tucson. The final 20 minutes figure to be intense.

UNLV leads Arizona late in first half

Arizona has closed the gap, but UNLV is still scoring at a high clip and with 2:34 left in the first half, the Scarlet and Gray have a 28-25 lead.

The Wildcats have gone to a fullcourt press, which has led to some uneasy moments in the backcourt for UNLV, but Khayla Rooks and Essence Booker have so far been able to break it without turning over the ball. UNLV is shooting 58.3% from the floor (14-of-24).

Desi-Rae Young continues to control the glass for UNLV, with six rebounds in her 10 minutes. She's also got a team-high eight points, and she'll head to the line for a pair of free throws after this timeout. Booker has come to life offensively on the last couple possessions, first swishing a jumper and then throwing a long pass ahead to Nneka Obiazor for a layup.

UNLV leads Arizona at end of 1st, 14-9

Interesting developments here in Tucson, as UNLV has jumped out to a surprising 14-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Center Desi-Rae Young has been the star for the Scarlet and Gray so far with six points and five rebounds, and UNLV has made 7-of-12 from the field.

At the other end, Arizona is just 3-of-15 and UNLV has not allowed the Wildcats to grab a single offensive rebound yet. Arizona leading scorer Cate Reese has five points on 2-of-3 shooting, but she picked up her second foul late in the quarter, so that will be a situation to monitor.

An encouraging start for underdog UNLV in a very hostile environment.

UNLV has early lead over Arizona

UNLV has started quick, and with 4:07 left in the first quarter Lindy La Rocque's squad has an 8-7 lead over Arizona.

Essence Booker got things started with a smooth pull-up jumper, and Desi-Rae Young followed with a post-up bucket. Scores by Khayla Rooks and Justice Ethridge have kept UNLV's offense on track, as the Scarlet and Gray have made 4-of-7 from the field.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign so far has been UNLV's work on the defensive glass. With Young patrolling the boards (four rebounds already), UNLV has been able to seal off the bigger Arizona frontcourt; the Wildcats have yet to grab an offensive rebound on their five misses.

UNLV women aim for NCAA upset against Arizona

After waiting two decades to make it back to the NCAA Tournament, the UNLV women’s basketball team would love nothing more than to make this an extended stay. That effort begins Saturday night, as the 13^th-seeded Scarlet and Gray take on No. 4 Arizona in Tucson (7 p.m., ESPN2).

The odds are decidedly against UNLV. Arizona is ranked No. 20 in the nation and will be playing on its home court in front of a large partisan crowd at the McKale Center, so a double-digit spread is understandable. It’s also of no concern to UNLV, as Lindy La Rocque’s crew has made it a point to come into this game with a fearless attitude.

Three keys to watch:

Pace is peril

UNLV’s offense has been a buzz saw this season, ranking No. 19 nationally in scoring at 75.6 points per game, and La Rocque has no plans of throttling down the team’s up-tempo approach on Saturday.

Sure, the stakes are high and Arizona is one of the nation’s best defensive teams, allowing just 56.8 points per game, but UNLV’s identity is playing fast and putting pressure on the defense at all times.

Junior point guard Essence Booker said UNLV will be in attack mode for 40 minutes.

“I don’t think anything changes despite our matchup,” Booker said. “We’re going to have to take care of the ball. Arizona is a great defensive team and they get a lot of their points off of defense, so as a point guard I have to set the tempo for that. But nothing changes. We want to score in transition, we want to play fast.”

Booker is coming off a Mountain West tournament MVP performance last week, and La Rocque has complete faith in her to run the offense.

“I totally trust her, and I think her teammates trust her more than anything,” La Rocque said. “She’s got a good feel for the game…I trust her, when she sees a lane, to take it. We try to teach our team a lot about the flow of the game, knowing what we’ve recently done in our last possessions and what we’ve got to do coming up, whether it’s momentum or turnovers or whatever it is. It starts with her, obviously, with the ball in her hands.”

UNLV will put the ball in Booker’s hands on Saturday and ask her to keep the offense running.

Board work

If UNLV intends on firing up its transition offense, those possessions will have to begin with a defensive rebound. That’s a tall task against Arizona, which features a strong frontcourt led by 6-foot-2 forward Cate Reese.

The Wildcats sported a negative rebounding margin in the regular season, however, so UNLV leading rebounder Desi-Rae Young (8.6 boards per game) believes she and her teammates can hold their own on the glass if they execute the fundamentals.

“Just box out,” Young said. “That’s how we’re going to be able to get rebounds, is just box out. They do have a little bit of size on us, so we know we’re going to have to box out and everyone is going to have to do that.”

Playing loose

UNLV’s confidence level coming into this game couldn’t be higher, despite the long odds.

Though this is La Rocque’s first NCAA Tournament game as a head coach and none of the UNLV players have any tourney experience, they have taken a free and easy — yet determined — approach to the past week.

Senior forward Khayla Rooks, an offseason transfer from Washington, will be making her tournament debut and spoke for her teammates when she expressed optimism in UNLV’s pregame press conference.

“I’m excited,” Rooks said. “I can’t wait to play on the big stage. Just watching the games that have already been played, anything [can] happen when you have that mentality. Let the madness begin.”

What: No. 13 UNLV (27-6, 15-3 MWC) vs. No. 4 Arizona (20-7, 10-6 Pac-12)

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

TV: ESPN2

Line: Arizona -14.5

UNLV leaders

Scoring: Essence Booker, 15.6 points

Desi-Rae Young, 8.4 rebounds

Assists: Essence Booker, 3.8 assists

Arizona leaders

Scoring: Cate Reese, 14.6 points

Rebounding: Cate Reese, 6.2 rebounds

Assists: Helena Pueyo, 2.6 assists

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