Graney: Things have changed for Lady Rebels — except the winning
The idea was to toughen up her players, to establish the sort of grit it takes to close out games down the stretch.
Lindy La Rocque thought her team needed to feel a level of adversity because of a change in leadership.
Because it no longer had Desi-Rae Young to count on at every turn.
And for every big hoop.
UNLV women’s basketball is different this season and yet it isn’t. Meaning it still wins a lot but not in the same manner.
The Lady Rebels on Wednesday night remained perfect in league play by taking a first-place battle with Colorado State 70-61 at Cox Pavilion.
It was a two-point game at halftime.
It was an eight-point game after three quarters.
It was mostly all Lady Rebels when things counted most.
UNLV (12-4, 4-0) played a nonconference schedule that included games against Arizona and Oklahoma and Baylor and Northwestern. All losses. All lessons learned.
So it went that the Lady Rebels on Saturday trailed at Boise State by seven entering the fourth quarter. They won 61-57.
So it went that when things remained close against Colorado State (12-5, 3-1), different players stepped up at different times. What the Lady Rebels need. Who they are now.
It’s about some of that toughness and grit La Rocque wanted her team to develop. Some of the things needed with the departure of Young, a two-time Mountain West Player of the Year.
‘A little adjusting’
“We love Desi and she’ll always be in our hearts as a huge part of the program, but for her sake, we have to keep pushing and carry on the legacy and the program she helped us build,” La Rocque said. “It took a little adjusting at the beginning, and I think they felt that because when games were on the line or we needed a bucket the last three to four years, it was to get the ball to Desi.
“For our staff, we’ve learned a lot. For our team, it’s figuring out together who we can rely on and who’s going to be that person that we go to.”
They remain the hunted in the Mountain West, a three-time champion of the regular season and tournament titles. Make no mistake — the road to a championship still runs directly through Cox Pavilion.
La Rocque thinks the conference is better than it has ever been, that there will be those making a serious run at her team’s crown. So she wants her players to flip the script and create their own narrative by acting the role of hunter.
It’s not so easy. Not when you have won this much.
“I’d like to think,” La Rocque said, “that we’re a part of (other teams) stepping up their games. In the last four to five years, this is as competitive as the league has been. I still believe we have a lot to prove because we’re so different than we have been.”
It’s true she and her staff have also had to adjust. They can’t run the same things, the same sets, have the same thought process, make the same decisions at certain times in a game. They’re growing as the team does.
Now, it’s about a player like senior leader Kiara Jackson hitting consecutive 3-pointers to open the third quarter and increase a 38-36 advantage to 44-36. About her scoring eight of her team’s first nine points in the third. About her finishing with 19.
It’s about a player like transfer Aaliyah Alexander scoring seven of the team’s final 11 points over the last few minutes and posting a game-high 21 points.
‘Exciting to watch’
“I think it was just about staying confident for my teammates and coaches,” Alexander said. “Just staying aggressive. They’re definitely looking for that from me, so I just have to trust it when they call my name for certain plays. Just stay confident and finish.
“That was like a championship-type game. It meant a lot for us. … What makes our team dangerous is you don’t know who it’s going to be stepping up each game. Exciting to watch.”
Meaning things are different this season and yet they aren’t.
The winning part remains.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.
