Young Leads No. 21 UNLV to Third Straight MWC Title, Tops San Diego State 66-49

San Diego State guard Jazlen Green (11) drives against UNLV center Desi-Rae Young (23) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game for the championship of the Mountain West women's tournament Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule) — San Diego State guard Jazlen Green (11) drives against UNLV center Desi-Rae Young (23) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game for the championship of the Mountain West women’s tournament Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Desi-Rae Young had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six steals to lead No. 21 UNLV to its third consecutive Mountain West Championship, defeating San Diego State 66-49 on Wednesday night.

Top-seeded UNLV becomes the first Mountain West team to win both the regular season and tournament championships three years in a row.

After scoring just 20 points in the first half, UNLV came to life in the third quarter. A 12-0 run highlighted by a couple of strong post moves from Young and finished off by a deep 3-pointer from Ashley Scoggin gave the Rebels a 34-24 lead halfway through the quarter. The Aztecs, however, kept it close and a pair of 3-pointers from Jada Lewis helped close the gap to 42-37 heading to the fourth.

UNLV opened it up in the fourth quarter, making 10 of 15 shots. Young made 4 of 5 shots and Scoggin, Alyssa Brown and Amarachi Kimpson all made 3-pointers in building their 17-point lead.

Young appeared to injure her left ankle on a layup with 49 seconds remaining, but she was able to walk off the court without assistance.

Kiara Jackson had 14 points and seven assists, Scoggin scored 13 points and Brown had 11 points plus nine rebounds for the Lady Rebels (30-2).

Penn State forward Grace Hall (7) shoots against Wisconsin forward Serah Williams (25) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Big Ten women's tournament Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

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Iowa's Caitlin Clark, center, awaits her NCAA college basketball team's seed reveal during a "Selection Sunday" watch party Sunday, March 17, 2024, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette via AP)

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Southern California's India Otto hugs Aaliyah Gayles while teammates McKenzie Forbes, JuJu Watkins and Rayah Marshall celebrate during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Pac-12 tournament Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

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Abby Prohaska had 13 points for seventh-seeded San Diego State (22-13).

NO. 25 FAIRFIELD 57, RIDER 51

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Kaety L’Amoreaux scored 19 points, including seven in the last 43 seconds, and Fairfield pulled out a win over eighth-seeded Rider in the quarterfinals of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament on Wednesday, running the Stags’ winning streak to 27.

Fairfield (29-1) matched Marist (2011) for the longest streak in MAAC history and have a chance to break it in the semifinals on Friday morning against the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between fourth-seeded Manhattan and fifth-seeded Canisius.

It was a struggle for the Stags, who beat Rider 83-54 in their season-ending game and 67-44 earlier. They were on track for their worst offensive game of the season until a 10-0 run over the middle of the fourth quarter gave them enough cushion to hold on.