LAS VEGAS – Bring on mighty UNLV.

Fifth-seeded Colorado State picked itself off the canvas Monday in the Mountain West women’s quarterfinals against No. 4 Nevada, turning a 10-point first-half deficit into a convincing, if not altogether comfortable, 65-54 victory at the Thomas & Mack Center.

That sets up the matchup with the two-time defending tournament champion Runnin’ Rebels at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

“I think our kids just like playing the best, and they are the best,” Rams coach Ryun Williams said. “Who doesn’t want to do that? To win a championship, you have got to beat the best team, and we’re going to give them a really good shot. Hopefully.”

If anybody is out to be cast in the role of David against the conference’s Goliath, it might be the diminutive McKenna Hofschild and CSU.

Both games this year were close, with UNLV winning 83-78 in Fort Collins on Jan. 6 and 67-64 in Las Vegas on Feb. 14. Aside from the games against CSU and their loss to New Mexico, the Rebels outscored opponents by an average of 25.5 points in their other conference tilts.

UNLV thrashed Fresno State 83-35 in the first game of the day on Monday. Its past three wins have come by margins of 59, 60 and 48 points.

“I think we match up really well with them,” said Hofschild, who scored 21 points with eight assists on Monday. “I think they have a lot of offensive weapons. So do we. I think they can do some things on the defensive end that gives teams fits, and I think we can too.

“It’s always a very exciting and energetic game. So tomorrow is going to be a good day. We’re excited and looking forward to it.”

Hofschild, the 5-foot-2 guard, has enjoyed one of the all-time great individual careers for Colorado State since transferring from Seton Hall. She is a four-time All-Mountain West selection, last year’s conference Player of the Year and she, and transcendent Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark, are the only players averaging 20 points and seven assists this season. This might be the opportunity for the signature victory her career has lacked – not to mention the only chance she would have at an NCAA Tournament berth before her eligibility runs out with this season.

“Yes, totally,” Hofschild said. “I look back on my career, and I want there to be one game where in 20 years people can remember that game. Not just for me, but this team. We can leave our legacy on CSU in that way.

“Tomorrow is a great opportunity for that.”

The challenge was likely exacerbated by a strong closing kick from Nevada, which launched an 8-0 run after falling behind by 19 points with five minutes remaining. Four CSU players logged 35 minutes as a result.

UNLV, on the other hand, saw nobody play even 30 minutes.

“Everyone got in, no one played major minutes,” Rebels coach Lindy La Rocque said. “We’ll get some time to recover. No one’s too banged up.”

The Rams will counter with a roster that includes seven hungry seniors for a program that has reached an NCAA Tournament just once since 2002, and never with this group.

“We’ve got a very competitive bunch,” Williams said.