UNLV women’s basketball team captivates with inspiring success story

When the UNLV women’s basketball team tips off Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament, a rousing storyline will enter another chapter.

The Lady Rebels enter the action after winning their first-ever regular-season Mountain West Conference championship and their first-ever conference tourney title, which secured them a place in the NCAA bracket for the first time since 2002. The No. 13-seeded team takes a 26-6 record into its first-round matchup with fourth-seeded Arizona in Tucson.

That’s impressive in itself, but it’s even more remarkable considering that the Rebels did all of this in coach Lindy La Rocque’s second season at UNLV. A year after La Rocque led the team to a second-place finish in the Mountain West and earned conference Coach of the Year honors — exceeding preseason predictions for the Lady Rebels in the process — she and her players topped themselves this year.

It’s the second installment of a story of one of Las Vegas’ own coming back home and doing very, very well.

La Rocque was an all-state player at Durango High School and served as a ball girl for the men’s and women’s teams at UNLV — she could admiringly be described as a gym rat. She went on to make four straight NCAA Tournament appearances as a player at Stanford University, where she played in the national title game in 2010.

Regardless of how this year’s March Madness turns out for the team, it’s obvious that UNLV made an extraordinary hire in La Rocque. For the Lady Rebels to do so well, so early in her time as coach speaks volumes about her ability.

The team’s success is another highlight in a powerhouse year for women’s sports at UNLV. The volleyball team posted its best-ever season record and won the National Invitational Volleyball Championship for the first time in school history, the tennis team is in first place in the conference standings and the softball team is in second place in the conference with an 18-5 record.

Meanwhile, we’d be remiss if we didn’t also commend the men’s basketball team, which fell just short of an NCAA Tournament bid this year in Kevin Kruger’s first season as head coach. This was another case of someone with strong UNLV ties returning to Las Vegas and doing nicely — Kruger is the son of former Rebels coach Lon Kruger and a UNLV player in 2006-07.

With La Roque and Kruger in place, it’s clear the Rebels are in very good hands. Next year, we’ll look forward to enjoying a double dose of March Madness.

For now, though, here’s a loud and hometown-proud cheer to the Lady Rebels and La Rocque. Go, UNLV!

Editor’s note: Saturday’s game is scheduled for tipoff at 7 p.m. Pacific time and will be broadcast on ESPN2.