Heartbreak for UNLV: Lady Rebels’ Season Ends with Last-Second Loss to Florida in WBI

The UNLV Lady Rebels saw their season conclude after a buzzer beater loss to the Florida Gators on Sunday night.

Mark Morales-Smith | Mar 24, 2025

UNLV Lady Rebels head coach Lindy La Rocque reacts to a play against the Michigan Wolverines during the first half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

On Sunday night, the UNLV Lady Rebels women's basketball team saw their season come to an end in the second round of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament at the hands of the Florida Gators on their home court in the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Gators won the game by a score of 86 - 84 in dramatic fashion. In a game in which there were 13 lead changes, none were more important than when Florida hit a three-pointer with one second left in the game to turn an 83 - 84 one-point deficit into an 86 - 84 two-point lead. It was a heart-breaking loss for the Lady Rebels who now have to move on to next season and say goodbye to their senior leaders.

Amarachi Kimpson led the Lady Rebs with 24 points while chipping in two assists and three rebounds in the finale of her sophomore season. Seniors Alyssa Brown and Kiara Jackson did not disappoint in the final game of their UNLV careers. Brown scored 17 points with a team-high 11 rebounds while Jackson posted 15 points with a team-best eight assists. It was a bitter sweet end to their senior seasons.

After the game, head coach Lindy La Rocque had plenty to say about the game and the season, “Just what an incredibly high-level basketball game. 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... That’s sports. That’s basketball. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way. We’ve been on the other side of that also, having the ball bounce our way to secure wins... Now, it isn’t about the game. 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... I told the team in the locker room ‘Now, it’s your job to honor (the seniors) and continue their legacy. 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.”

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