UNLV women ready to run vs. Arizona in NCAA Tournament

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Friday, March 18, 2022 | 2 a.m.

It has taken the UNLV women’s basketball program 20 years to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. Don’t expect them to shy away from the spotlight now that they’ve arrived.

As the 13^th-seeded Scarlet and Gray prepare to take on No. 4 Arizona in a first-round matchup on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN2), there’s no point in playing coy: They’ve run up a 26-6 record this season and won the Mountain West championship by playing fast, pushing the pace and out-gunning the competition.

Now, head coach Lindy La Rocque wants her team to dance with the one that brung them.

Though high-stakes games can tend to devolve into slow-paced, halfcourt affairs, La Rocque has no intention of instructing her squad to play any different than it has all year.

“I know our team is going to give it everything we can,” La Rocque said. “Offensively we want to get in transition and try to score a lot of points.”

That’s been the formula for UNLV’s unprecedented success this season. The Scarlet and Gray rank ninth nationally in field goal attempts, which speaks to the team’s ability to get up the floor quickly and create quality scoring chances early in the shot clock.

UNLV is 17^th in the country in field-goal accuracy at 45.3% and 19^th in overall scoring at 75.6 points per game.

Running the floor won’t be easy against Arizona. The Wildcats are tough, defensive-minded and plenty experienced after last year’s run to the national title game. Under head coach Adia Barnes, Arizona is a Top-50 team defensively, ranking 42^nd in points allowed (56.8 per game).

If UNLV is going to force the issue and dictate the pace, a lot of that responsibility is going to fall on the shoulders of point guard Essence Booker.

A junior playing her first season at UNLV following stops at UNR and Ball State, Booker has emerged as a dynamic catalyst for La Rocque’s fast-paced offense. With coach and point guard in sync, UNLV has pushed the ball at every opportunity and opponents have largely been overwhelmed.

Booker leads UNLV in scoring (15.6 points) and assists (3.8) and claimed Mountain West Conference tournament MVP honors last week.

After piloting UNLV this far, Booker can’t envision ceding the style-of-play battle just because they’re walking into this game as a double-digit underdog.

“I feel like we’re ready, we’re prepared,” Booker said. “Obviously we’re going into this next game we’re the underdogs, but I don’t think we’re going to play like one at all.”

In a twist of fate, Arizona’s top defender happens to be Las Vegas native Sam Thomas, a senior forward who was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team after averaging 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks in 30.6 minutes per game. Her sister, Jade Thomas, is a sophomore guard for UNLV.

UNLV’s frontcourt will have its work cut out against Arizona’s lengthy forwards, a group which features Sam Thomas (6-foot), leading scorer Cate Reese (6-foot-2) and top shot-blocker Lauren Ware (6-foot-5).

UNLV center Desi-Rae Young has enjoyed an ultra-productive campaign (15.1 points, 8.4 rebounds) and will be counted on to keep it up against Arizona’s formidable front.

Young believes the Scarlet and Gray have gotten better throughout the year and are playing their best basketball heading into the NCAA Tournament.

“Preseason, midseason and now post, I feel like we’ve really leveled up,” Young said.

La Rocque recognizes that UNLV will have to play its best game of the season in order to knock off Arizona, and she thinks her team is going into this single-elimination tournament with the proper mindset.

“You have to take it one game at a time,” she said. “You say that all year and this is the most true it’s ever been. Our very most important game of the year is the next one that we have because that’s the only one that’s guaranteed.”

So what would a UNLV upset look like on Saturday? The blueprint probably begins with a defensive rebound, an outlet pass to Booker, a transition push and an open 3-pointer for one of the Scarlet and Gray’s capable marksmen.

It’s a brazen gameplan, no doubt—any 13 seed that believes it can run its opponent off the floor must be awfully confident.

But is it possible?

“I know whether you’re the higher seed or the lower seed, it’s March Madness,” La Rocque said. “Anything can happen. Anyone can beat anyone.”

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