Lady Rebels await NCAA Tournament destiny after historic season

UNLV Lady Rebels head coach Lindy La Rocque shouts from the sidelines throughout the 2nd half of a Mountain West championship game versus the Wyoming Cowgirls at the Thomas & & Mack Center on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @ellenschmidtttUNLV Lady Rebels center Desi-Rae Young (23) challenges an out-of-bounds call with a referee while Wyoming Cowgirls guard Tess Barnes (5) smiles behind her throughout the second half of a Mountain West national championship at the Thomas & & Mack Center on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @ellenschmidtttUNLV Lady Rebels center Desi-Rae Young (23) shoots against Wyoming Cowgirls center Allyson Fertig (45) throughout the second half of a Mountain West championship game at the Thomas & & Mack Center on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @ellenschmidttt
Lindy La Rocque is typically more than generous with her words. The UNLV females's basketball coach enjoys to speak about the Lady Rebels, basketball in Las Vegas and her plans for the future.

Her silence tends to speak volumes.

Following the Mountain West tournament national championship on Wednesday - - which top-seeded UNLV conveniently won 71-60 against No. 2 Wyoming - - La Rocque was asked where she believed her group should be seeded for the NCAA Tournament.

For practically 10 seconds, she pondered the concern prior to finally answering with one word.

" Nope.".

No. 21-ranked UNLV's historical season will continue. The Lady Rebels (31-2) have currently protected an automated quote to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Mountain West tournament for a 2nd consecutive season, taking the majority of the suspense out of Sunday's choice show.

Rather, they wait to hear where they'll play and who they'll deal with in the first round.

The NCAA women's bracket will be exposed at 5 p.m. Sunday on ESPN. UNLV will host a complimentary public watch celebration at the Strip View Pavilion inside the Thomas & & Mack Center starting at 4 p.m.

" I believe we're actually confident in who we are," La Rocque said. "We know who we are, we understand how we wish to play, we're thrilled, we have a lot of excellent skill.

" I'm delighted to see what Sunday brings.".

UNLV's season has had plenty of milestones. The Lady Rebels won successive conference competition titles for the very first time and have the most wins in a season in program history.

UNLV's 22 straight success are tied for second-longest active winning streak in the nation, tracking only No. 1 South Carolina (38 ).

UNLV has been consistently slotted as a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That's despite offering Arizona, then the ruling NCAA Tournament runner-up, whatever it might handle prior to losing 72-67 as a No. 13 seed in the preliminary of in 2015's tournament.

La Rocque stated that experience will assist the Lady Rebels prepare for the unique rigors of the NCAA Tournament.

" None of them had actually ever done it except for me," La Rocque said. "Now they have, so you understand a bit of the cadence of the travel or the scheduling - - that's most likely going to be insane - - or just the choice program so you're not so surprised by every turn.".

UNLV has actually most frequently been predicted to face Oklahoma, a No. 5 seed, though the place has altered a number of times. The Lady Rebels have actually been slotted in for first-round video games in Boulder, Colorado; Tucson, Arizona; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Austin, Texas; and Columbus, Ohio, at numerous times this season.

ESPN's latest Bracketology projection has UNLV playing in a pod hosted by No. 4 seed UCLA in Los Angeles.

" This year, we're going to come out 10 times more powerful," Mountain West tournament MVP Desi-Rae Young said. "( La Rocque) stated it: People must seethe they're playing us. People should be afraid of us, due to the fact that we're can be found in with a hostility we didn't have that much in 2015.".

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

NCAA Tournament selection programs.

Sunday.

Guy: 3 p.m., KLAS-8, KWWN (1100 AM, 100.9 FM).

Females: 5 p.m., ESPN.