The Mountain West women’s basketball regular season title officially goes to the UNLV Lady Rebels! The race for second is heating up, with six teams between 8 and 10 conference wins entering Wednesday’s action. Wyoming lost two marquee home games by a combined four points, and the Cowgirls’ hopes of a 2 seed in Vegas are slipping away with a four game slide. Let’s dive into an exciting week in the MW.
Team of the Week: UNLV
UNLV has been head and shoulders above the rest of the Mountain West all season, and this week they officially started collecting their well-deserved honors. On Wednesday, the Lady Rebels secured a thrilling 63-60 overtime victory in Laramie against a desperate Wyoming squad, clinching a share of the conference title. On Saturday night, they visited their hated rivals in Reno and handed the Wolf Pack a big little L, winning 98-67 on national TV and claiming their third straight outright regular season title.
In four seasons under head coach Lindy La Rocque, the Lady Rebels are an unfathomable 60-9 in conference play, on track to equal Colorado State’s 63-9 record from 2014-17. Desi-Rae Young, averaging 19.0 ppg and 9.6 rpg, has a good chance at winning her second MW Player of the Year award. At 24-2 with a NET ranking of 34 and top 50 wins over Arizona and Oklahoma, CBS Sports has them as an 8 seed, though a loss in the conference tournament could result in a nervy Selection Monday. In a city of flashing lights, UNLV has shone as brightly and steadily as the Luxor.
Player of the Week: Tatum Thompson
A common basketball adage is that “role players play better at home”. Boise State had two tough tests at home last week with New Mexico and Fresno State visiting ExtraMile Arena, and role player Tatum Thompson certainly stepped up to that challenge. The sophomore guard scored 19 points on 9/16 shooting against UNM, leading the Broncos to a 58-55 victory and a season sweep over the Lobos. Thompson followed that up with 11 points and 9 rebounds in a 70-65 win over Fresno State. Boise State now sits in a tie for second place with New Mexico, with trips to UNLV and Colorado State still left on the schedule. The playmaking of Mary Kay Naro and rim protection of Abby Muse tend to grab most of the Boise State related headlines, but it’s the contributions of role players that will set the ceiling for this Broncos squad in March.
Game to Watch: San Diego State at New Mexico
2/28, 7 PM MT (Mountain West Network), Albuquerque, NM
New Mexico split two nail-biters last week, losing 58-55 at Boise State on Wednesday and surviving 59-58 at Wyoming. They host a rested San Diego State squad looking to secure a first round bye. Should the Lobos win tonight, the path towards the second seed would seemingly open up given the tough schedules ahead for their challengers, Boise State and SDSU. A home win is easier said than done, however; the Aztecs won the first meeting in San Diego 60-53 thanks to a dominant 16-10 performance from Kim Villalobos.
Kevin’s Broadcast Schedule: None :(
Utah State’s final home game of the season will be next Tuesday, March 5th.