Lady Rebels seeded 13th in NCAA Tournament, will play at Arizona
UNLV women’s basketball coach Lindy La Rocque had a message for athletic director Erick Harper after the Lady Rebels won the Mountain West tournament title last week.
“We better be throwing a rocking party on Sunday,” she said.
So that’s exactly what Harper did.
UNLV hosted an NCAA Tournament selection show viewing party Sunday at the Strip View Pavilion inside the Thomas &Mack Center. With a large fan base cheering them on, the Lady Rebels found out they will be the No. 13 seed in the Greensboro, North Carolina, region and play No. 4 Arizona (20-7) in the first round.
The game will be played Saturday in Tucson, Arizona. Game time has yet to be announced.
South Carolina is seeded No. 1, Iowa No. 2 and Iowa State No. 3 in the region.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” La Rocque said. “We’re going to be really prepared, really excited and have a great game plan.”
UNLV (26-6) is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. The Lady Rebels swept through the Mountain West to claim the regular-season championship, then won a tournament title for the first time since 1994 when they played in the Big West.
Harper said the team’s commitment to excellence has been a pleasure to watch.
“They’ve been first-class all the way,” he said.
La Rocque said Harper’s party met her standards. She added that the program’s goal is to make the tournament every year — and to hold more selection show parties.
Fifth-year forward Khayla Rooks, a transfer from Washington, enjoyed the moment with her teammates. Her experiences at Washington gave her a greater appreciation for the culture at UNLV. The Huskies were never close to making the tournament in her four seasons. Just having a winning season was exciting.
“I’ve been dreaming of this moment since I started playing basketball,” Rooks said. “This is what it’s about. This is why you come play hoops in college, so it’s a great achievement.”
Rooks’ said her new goal is to get past the first round. Her older brother, Kameron Rooks, lost at the same stage in his senior season at San Diego State, and she wants to go further than he did.
The game has a more personal connection for Rooks, too. Her father, Sean Rooks, starred at Arizona in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and playing at the McKale Center is always special.
“I’m really excited to play in that gym and play against Arizona,” she said.
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.
South Carolina tops women's field
South Carolina claimed the No. 1 overall seed for the women's NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
This year's bracket expanded to 68 teams for the first time to match the men's field, with the play-in games Wednesday and Thursday.
The Gamecocks (Greensboro Region) join North Carolina State (Bridgeport), defending champion Stanford (Spokane) and Louisville (Wichita) as No. 1 seeds.
The NCAA announced the selections Sunday for the first time since 2006. Officials hope to move the announcement back to its normal Monday slot next year.
The top 16 seeds will host the first- and second-round games, a year after the entire tournament was played in a makeshift bubble in San Antonio because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Associated Press
