While the higher-profile UNLV men’s basketball and football teams have fought their way to success in recent years, they’ve struggled to maintain the overall consistency that comes with steady, longtime leadership. Meanwhile, on the Lady Rebels side, UNLV Athletics announced just last week that head basketball coach Lindy La Rocque has signed a new five-year contract, locking down the three-time Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year through the 2029-2030 season.

“In just five seasons, she has transformed the Lady Rebels into a proven winner … guiding us to four straight regular-season conference championships, three Mountain West tournament titles, and four postseason appearances,” Director of Athletics Erick Harper said in a statement. “Extending her contract reinforces our commitment to sustained excellence, continued student-athlete development, and the vibrant Las Vegas community that supports our women’s basketball program.”

As the team looks to tip off another season, the Weekly caught up with La Rocque to check in on the look and feel of the Lady Rebel roster, and to explore just how vibrant the Las Vegas women’s basketball community has become during her tenure.

There’s been a lot of change to the roster and the staff heading into the new season. What’s it been like to bring this new crew together?

Honestly, it’s been amazing. I don’t think change is always a bad thing. We have people who are excited, that want to be here and have great energy and want to be a part of what we have built here already, which is just a winning culture. Sometimes it’s a good thing to bring some fresh new perspective and personality into the mix. That part has been a joy, to get to know more new young people and mentor new staff members.

What’s your philosophy on the balance of creating consistency, bringing a similar style of play to the court each season, versus making adjustments based on your personnel?

That’s it, that’s the balance, and that’s the job of the coach. You’ve got to have a style of play but you also have to adapt to the skill sets of your players and put them in a position to be successful. We’ve identified how we want to play over the last five years, the meat and potatoes, and that isn’t changing. You’ll see different looks and feels at times, that’s

kind of the side dishes and appetizers, like the intricacies of sets we run, and who we go to. You don’t want things to feel exactly the same every year, but I think if you’ve watched us year over year, you can see a consistent approach to how we do things.

Have you identified any obvious strengths yet?

It’s a really talented team. Maybe, compared to years past, we have some great size, length and athleticism that should allow us to be dangerous offensively and defensively. We have a great mixed bag of different skills that’s going to create a diverse team.

This is your sixth year at UNLV and the seventh year that the Aces have been playing in Las Vegas. You grew up here. What’s it been like to watch the WNBA become prominent in Vegas and have such an impact?

I think it’s been tremendous. Being born and raised here and exposed to basketball at an early age, my parents took us to Rebel games and that was all there was in town. I have a soon-to-be 3-year-old daughter and we go to Aces games and it’s interesting to reflect on how that can be impactful for her. Basketball is basketball, but to see women playing at the highest level is tremendous for the young girls in our community, whether or not they want to play sports, and [the Aces’] success has been amazing. Las Vegas loves winners and that’s what the Aces have done, with great crowds and great players.

So you’ve seen that impact play out at the college and high school level?

Oh, definitely. These are pros playing at the highest level and the more young adults who are exposed to that at the earliest age, the more it invites their imagination to really consider what they can do. It’s huge for the overall development of our community, and for us at UNLV, it’s been great. We’ve got a lot of women’s basketball fans here in town and our seasons don’t overlap. So we are continuing to figure out how we can get all 10,000-plus of those Aces fans to our Lady Rebels games, because clearly they love the sport, and we’ve done some winning, too. It’s helped us in recruiting. We try to do some crossover things with tickets and marketing. And I’ve definitely had a number of people come to our games and acknowledge, “We love the Aces and now we love you guys.” Even if it’s just a handful, that’s meaningful.

Is coaching in the pros something you’d like to do at some point?

I’m not sure that suits my leadership style or is where my passion lies. I’m never gonna say never, but what I really enjoy is the educational piece, the teaching, the impact, the relationship building. From what I hear, it’s a little more transactional and business driven; those are grown women with their own families. Not that it isn’t a great opportunity, but for me and where my passion lies, some of that doesn’t translate.

UNLV WOMEN’S BASKETBALL UPCOMING SCHEDULE November 5, 6:30 p.m., Washington State; November 9, 2 p.m., DePaul; November 14, 6 p.m., Baylor; Cox Pavilion, unlvtickets.com.

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