Las Vegas, Nevada - The SUU women's basketball team opened up their regular season slate Saturday afternoon against UNLV at the Thomas & Mack Center and fell to the Rebels 79–44.

“We learned a couple things,” SUU head coach Chris Boettcher said about the game. “If we'll stick with the process and worry about ourselves getting better and playing at the level we need to play to be competitive in the Big Sky that we can be pretty successful. And then as a young team we need to be able to control and manage our emotions because that's going to affect our level of consistency and play. So hopefully after watching some film tomorrow the team will learn enough to bounce back and Tuesday get another chance to get some of those nerves out, get some of those first year feelings taken care of and put a better product on the floor Tuesday at Utah Valley.”

The Rebels jumped out on SUU early, holding a 23–8 lead after the first quarter and extending that to 47–17 at the half. UNLV had the hot hand in the first 20 minutes, shooting 45.5 percent from the field.

The Thunderbirds found more success in the second half, shooting 32 percent from the field as opposed to the 19 percent they shot in the first. SUU stayed close in the third quarter, only being outscored by six, and outscored the Rebels in the fourth quarter 14–13.  

“I'm really proud of the effort in the second half and the focus on improving as a team in the second half,” Boettcher said.

Breanu Reid, who was one of SUU's top performers in their two exhibition games, had a big night for the Thunderbirds finishing with 18 points and seven rebounds. Boettcher said he's really excited about what he's seen from his freshman point guard.

“She's not afraid to compete, she's not afraid of anybody at any level,” he said. “She is just ready to play the game and play it at the highest level. Right now she's taking advantage of the opportunity to get minutes and continues to solidify how important she is to her team.”

Ashleigh Munns dropped in nine points for SUU. Emma Weinreich had eight points and seven rebounds for SUU, and Jessica Richardson had eight points and six rebounds.

Dakota Gonzalez had a big game for the Rebels, finishing with 21 points. Brooke Johnson and Amie Callaway both finished with 13 points.

UNLV dominated in the paint, outscoring SUU 40–10 inside the painted area, and had a 23–8 advantage in second chance points.

Boettcher has plenty of experience coaching against UNLV and said they might be as deep as he's seen them.

“This year it seems like they're really deep in all five spots and have the pieces of the puzzle that can help them compete for the Mountain West title,” he said.