UNLV Runnin' Rebels head coach Josh Pastner praises players, fans and Lady Rebels ahead of final home game

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — UNLV Runnin' Rebels head coach Josh Pastner had plenty of praise to go around Monday — for his players, the fans and Lady Rebels head coach Lindy La Rocque.

"I don't know why we haven't already built a statue of her right here, she's incredible," Pastner said. "What she has done has been unbelievable; she's the gold standard."

The Runnin' Rebels are currently tied for sixth in Mountain West standings. The team is working toward matching La Rocque and the Lady Rebels' 7 conference titles between regular-season and tournament championships.

A key piece of that pursuit is point guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, a now three-time Mountain West Player of the Week.

"Based on his performance, if we were competing for a league championship, I don't even think it would be a question he's the Mountain West Player of the Year," Pastner said. "I believe he should be, I'm really proud of him, and a lot of our guys have gotten individually better and that's a great sign of what you want to see in your program."

Gibbs-Lawhorn scored a career-high 42 points against in-state rival UNR on Saturday. Pastner credited the crowd with helping fuel that performance.

"Basketball, like life, is about energy, the crowd on Saturday night was our MVP and there's no doubt about it, we won the game because they gave us a great jolt," Pastner said.

The Runnin' Rebels' final regular season home game is Tuesday against top of the Mountain West standings Utah State at 8 p.m.

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