UNLV women beat Colorado State, win first Mountain West tourney title

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Essence Booker scored 25 points and top-seeded UNLV collected its first Mountain West Conference tournament title with a 75-65 victory over No. 6 seed Colorado State on Wednesday night.

UNLV (26-6), which also played in its first conference title game since 2002, ended this one on a 13-3 run with Booker scoring six points. The Rebels will enter the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years.

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UNLV guard Essence Booker (24) drives as Colorado State guard Petra Farkas (11) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game for the championship of the Mountain West Conference women's tournament Wednesday, March 9, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Booker made four 3-pointers, finished 10-of-25 shooting from the floor and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Desi-Rae Young added 14 points for the Rebels.

McKenna Hofschild scored 27 points for Colorado State (21-11). Karly Murphy added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Upe Atosu had 10 points.

UNLV closed the first quarter on a 12-7 surge, capped by Nneka Obiazor's 3-pointer, for a 24-19 advantage and led 38-31 at the break. The Rebels extended their lead to 13 points with 3:18 left in the third quarter.

The Rams answered with a 20-8 run to pull within 62-61 with 4:28 remaining. Hofschild scored nine points, Murphy added six and Sydney Mech made a 3-pointer during the stretch.