Lady Rebels’ season ends on Florida 3-pointer at buzzer — PHOTOS, VIDEO

Everything was going right for UNLV against Florida in the second round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament.

The Lady Rebels created some separation in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 50-39 lead despite Florida senior guard Jeriah Warren hitting a 3-pointer right before the first-half buzzer.

It turned out to foreshadow what was to come.

Florida senior guard Kenza Salgues hit a 3-pointer at the final buzzer, and the Gators defeated UNLV 86-84 Sunday at the Cox Pavilion to end the Lady Rebels’ season.

“Just what an incredibly high-level basketball game,” UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque said. “It was fun to play in. It had to be fun to watch. We had a great atmosphere, and unfortunately, it ends up being our last game of the season on a buzzer-beater.”

Florida (18-17) got hot from behind the arc in the second half, making nine 3-pointers and finishing 14-for-25 (56 percent) from deep. The Gators will host Texas Tech in a quarterfinal matchup Thursday.

Sophomore guard Amarachi Kimpson led UNLV (26-8) with 24 points, and senior forward Alyssa Brown added 17 points and 11 rebounds.

“I’m super proud of the fight today,” Brown said. “They started hitting 3s late in the game, and they were hitting those before, so a little bit of a change in pace for us. We didn’t let it rattle us too much. We tried to make adjustments, talking more, communicating more, so I’m proud of the fight down the stretch.”

‘That’s sports’

Freshman guard Liv McGill led Florida with 23 points, and Warren added 18. Florida trailed most of the game and traded the lead with UNLV in the fourth quarter until the Lady Rebels used a 6-0 run to go ahead 80-76 with 3:40 to play.

Florida struggled at the free-throw line late in the fourth, making 4 of 8 at the foul line in the final four minutes. McGill went 1-for-2 at the line with 37 seconds left to cut UNLV’s lead to 84-83.

The Lady Rebels had a chance to extend their lead on the ensuing possession, but senior point guard Kiara Jackson’s short jumper was blocked by McGill, which set up one last chance for the Gators with 9.8 seconds remaining.

McGill almost turned the ball over on the inbounds pass after pressure from Kimpson and Jackson but passed it to Warren, who then fired a pass to Salgues in front of the Florida bench. She drilled the shot to win the game.

“I was just thinking, ‘We got to get a shot off, no matter what,’” Warren said. “We had to get a shot off, and I heard Kenza call my name and I passed the ball and she made the right play.”

Most of the first half was close, but UNLV used a 12-0 run late in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead at the break. But the shots that were falling in the second quarter for the Lady Rebels didn’t in the third quarter. They shot 5-for-16 from the field in the third quarter and were 2-for-12 on 3-pointers in the second half.

“That’s sports. That’s basketball. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way,” La Rocque said. “We’ve been on the other side of that also, having the ball bounce our way to secure wins.”

‘Created a foundation’

For UNLV, its run with outgoing seniors Brown and Jackson comes to an end. They were a part of a class that had one of the most successful runs in program history with four straight Mountain West regular-season titles, three conference tournament titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances.

The Lady Rebels’ 63-46 WBIT opening-round victory against Hawaii was the program’s first postseason win since 2004.

“Now, it isn’t about the game,” La Rocque said. “It’s about some closure to just an incredible chapter, finishing the year 26-8, another 25-win season and a senior class that has made this program — resurrected it, whatever you want to call it. It has created a foundation of expectation and standard that we’ll be here for a long time.”

The cupboard is far from bare for UNLV. Kimpson, last year’s Mountain West freshman and sixth player of the year, led UNLV in scoring (14.5 points per game) this season. The Lady Rebels received stellar play from sophomore McKinna Brackens and redshirt freshman Meadow Roland, who was named the conference’s freshman and sixth player of the year this season.

“I told the team in the locker room ‘Now, it’s your job to honor (the seniors) and continue their legacy,” La Rocque said. “Take the sting from this game and carry it forward and the loss from the conference tournament. Incredibly proud of this group, just the growth, the development, the investment. It’s a long journey, and it was great.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.