The UNLV women’s basketball season concluded much like it began: With coach Lindy La Rocque and guard Aaliyah Alexander telling reporters about the team’s tournament hopes.
When the Lady Rebels opened their season with a victory over Washington State on Nov. 5, Alexander and La Rocque emphasized UNLV’s desire to play in the NCAA tournament. La Rocque even asserted that this was the most talented roster of her career, saying it had the “caliber to be in the Sweet 16” and beyond.
After UNLV was eliminated in the semifinals of the Mountain West conference tournament with a 66-59 loss to No. 3 Colorado State on Monday, it was clear that postseason play wouldn’t be a guarantee — and that the NCAA tournament was completely off the table.
“Our locker room is disappointed in this game. But as I told them, we’re sad because of the possibility of it being over,” La Rocque said. “I’m hopeful that it’s not. I’m going to try my hardest to make that happen in some postseason play in whatever tournament that is.”
Alexander, who led UNLV with 22 points and three assists, made a similar appeal.
“I honestly don’t feel like we’re done. I still feel like we got practice tomorrow,” Alexander said. “I want to keep playing, and I know our team does, too.”
Alexander an example
Alexander was the only player to join La Rocque in a postgame news conference that featured two players for every other team.
“Aaliyah Alexander is here next to me because she’s a warrior,” La Rocque said. “She’s a senior. I feel like I’ve known her my whole life, and I’ve only known her two years.
“She’s a flat-out warrior. She left it out there for us tonight and gave us every fighting chance that we had. I’m just extremely proud of her, and I hope I get to keep coaching her.”
Alexander, a 5-foot-8 graduate student who joined UNLV last offseason after three years with Eastern Washington, adapted to the point guard role this season. She was playing out of position with sophomore Teagan Cole sidelined because of an injury from January until March 3.
“Playing the point guard this year, that was new for me, and I accepted it. I trusted in our coaches,” Alexander said. “I knew that if Lindy believed in me, then I should believe in myself.”
Alexander said in the beginning of the season that she knew UNLV would have a “target on (their) backs” even though they were essentially a brand new team.
With nine new players, including six transfers, it took some time for the updated roster to find its groove. Transfer Shelbee Brown became a key as the only player in the conference to average a double-double in points and rebounds, but she and returning forward Meadow Roland were limited to a combined five points in the pivotal second-half of Sunday’s loss.
“Because of all the new faces, we had to do a great job with just gelling and trusting and learning each other,” Alexander said. “Once we started to do that, basketball got really fun, just playing with each other and cheering for each other on and off the court.”
La Rocque’s résumé
After Sunday’s loss, La Rocque said this was the toughest season of her career. She said she relied heavily on her staff because of undisclosed personal struggles.
In her six years at the helm of the Lady Rebels, she has now been eliminated from the conference tournament in the semifinals for back-to-back seasons. This comes after she won three straight tournament championships from 2022 until 2024. She also led the team to four straight regular-season championship titles from 2022 until 2025.
UNLV was ousted last year by San Diego State, which was eliminated by No. 9 Air Force this year as the regular-season champion and the top seed this season in a stunning quarterfinal upset.
The Lady Rebels’ 63-46 WBIT opening-round victory over Hawaii last year was the program’s first postseason win since 2004.
It’s unclear if the Lady Rebels 20-10 overall record will be strong enough to secure a WBIT again invite this year. The team took five regular-season Mountain West losses and went 5-5 in its non-conference schedule, losing key opportunities to Baylor, Montana State, Arizona State, Rice and Cincinnati.
The NCAA-run WBIT isn’t the only option, as UNLV might also hope for a spot in the independent WNIT.
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Callie__Fin on X.
