UNLV women’s season preview: Juniors seek ‘back-to-back-to-back’

Lindy La Rocque is tired of watching the Lady Rebels play each other.

The UNLV women’s basketball coach is ready to see her team face other opponents in a competitive environment.

“We start for real next week,” La Rocque said.

The Lady Rebels enter the 2023-24 season with high expectations. They’ve won consecutive regular-season championships and conference tournaments and made two straight NCAA Tournament appearances. UNLV was unsurprisingly selected as the preseason favorite to win the conference again during Mountain West media days.

UNLV opens its season on the road against Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. Monday.

“Ultimately, we want to win the conference again,” junior forward Alyssa Brown said. “That’s going to be a challenge — back-to-back-to-back is going to be tough — but I think we’re up for it.”

UNLV will look different this season. Las Vegas natives Essence Booker and Justice Ethridge, starters during the two championship campaigns, graduated. La Rocque has an idea who will replace them in the lineup, but has spent the offseason finding ways to fill the leadership vacuum left in their absence.

La Rocque has specifically leaned on her junior class to step into new roles as team leaders to support standout senior center Desi-Rae Young.

The juniors enter their third season at UNLV as one of the most accomplished classes in program history. They have a combined record of 57-10 during their first two years, accepting their roles as the Lady Rebels established themselves as the best in the Mountain West.

Guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas has made 60 starts in 66 appearances since arriving ahead of the 2021-22 season. Brown seamlessly stepped into the starting lineup last year following Nneka Obiazor’s season-ending injury. Guard Kiara Jackson was the 2022-23 conference Sixth Player of the Year, and wing Kenadee Winfrey was a key part of the Lady Rebels’ rotation.

La Rocque called the group the “foundation of our program.”

“I wish I could keep them forever, to be honest,” she said. “Now they’re really stepping into some major roles for our program, not just off the court but on the court, so I’m excited to see how they continue to carry us forward.”

The offseason has allowed the juniors to find their footing in their new roles. Durazo-Frescas said the team is already bonding well. She described this year’s team as “goofier” than some of the past Lady Rebels squads, but added they still have the same discipline and work ethic that has led to championships in the past.

UNLV won its lone preseason scrimmage on the road against Grand Canyon, the Western Athletic Conference favorite. La Rocque said it was a good test for the Lady Rebels, who didn’t start particularly well but got better as the game went along.

The Lady Rebels also won their preseason exhibition game, crushing Cal State Los Angeles 95-59 on Wednesday at Cox Pavilion. Young led the Lady Rebels with 24 points, while Jackson had 17 points and seven assists. Durazo-Frescas registered a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double.

“All of our hard work we put into this,” Durazo-Frescas said, “all the blood, sweat and tears we put into this summer and this preseason, we really want it to show on the court.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.