Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

UNLV women united, ready to build on historic conference title win

0309_sun_LadyRebels2

Steve Marcus

UNLV Lady Rebels guard Essence Booker (24) celebrates after making a basket during the Mountain West womens championship game against the Colorado State Rams at the Thomas & Mack Center Wednesday, March 9, 2022.

As Nneka Obiazor pulled up on the wing and swished a long 3-pointer, four of her UNLV teammates applauded from the bleachers, and the encouragement continued until the final buzzer sounded on Obiazor’s 27-point performance Tuesday night at the Desert Reign Pro City summer league.

It was a veritable show of force for the UNLV women’s basketball team at the Doolittle Community Center, as eight other Lady Rebels joined Obiazor in suiting up for the summer exhibition. Obiazor, a junior, played in the early game, while returning stars Essence Booker and Desi-Rae Young were among those who competed in the second game.

The high turnout was a sign that the UNLV women’s squad is as tight as ever and determined to build on their historic 2021-22 season, when they won the Mountain West regular season championship, stormed to the MWC tournament title and earned the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth in 20 years.

Though starting forward Khayla Rooks has graduated, every other player returns, setting the stage for a fantastic follow-up.

Booker, the starting point guard and on-court leader, has already set the bar higher than last year.

“We’re a strong group,” Booker said. “Nneka’s going to step up and fill the shoes of Khayla Rooks. We look good. We look solid, we look hungry, we look greedy. Obviously we want to go further in the tournament next year. We just can’t get comfortable. Going into next season, with our record and how we performed, we have a target on our back. Being the conference champions and winning the conference tournament, everyone is going to come for us.”

UNLV is currently in the middle of its eight-week window for summer workouts. Obiazor said the sessions are mostly focused on individual development, with players working to improve specific aspects of their game.

Then it will be up to coach Lindy La Rocque to mold everything into a cohesive unit when practice begins in the fall. Considering where the 21-22 team left off, they should have a significant head start when practice tips off.

“Summer workouts are my favorite,” Obiazor said. “We’ve been really disciplined and making sure that we stick to what made us win the championship. Coach Lindy really gives us a lot of room and space to work on whatever we want to, to get better in the season.”

And for the next three Tuesdays, Obiazor and her fan section get to let loose a little in the Desert Reign league, which features former and current college players with local ties.

The on-court action is a little more relaxed, as it should be with a summer pro-am league. In addition to Obiazor’s big scoring night, Young posted 27 points and nine rebounds while Booker tallied eight points, three assists and three rebounds.

When the real games begin in November, the Lady Rebels will be all business. But for now, it’s about teammates supporting teammates — and making flashy highlight plays — in an entertaining, summer-league atmosphere.

“It’s just about having fun,” Booker said. “Sometimes college basketball can be really stressful, so this is a time to just get loose and have fun.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy