LAS VEGAS — Lindy La Rocque believes UNLV women’s basketball may have its toughest non-conference schedule since she took over the program, and a young roster will not have much time to settle in before being tested.
The 13-game schedule announced Sunday includes nine home games, three true road games and a neutral-site matchup. An Oct. 27 exhibition against Cal State LA precedes the regular season.
“This may be the toughest non-conference schedule to date for us,” La Rocque said.
Six opponents return from last season’s schedule. UNLV went 2-4 against Washington State, Montana State, Arizona State, UTSA, Rice and Cincinnati, with several advancing to postseason play.
UNLV will face that schedule with a younger roster after losing several key pieces from last season. Nine of the Lady Rebels’ 13 players are newcomers, including six freshmen. Meadow Roland and Jasmyn Lott give La Rocque two established returners, while Bergan Kinnebrew arrives after averaging 22.4 points per game at UMary last season.
After the Oct. 27 exhibition at The Pavilion, UNLV opens against USC six days later in the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase at T-Mobile Arena. USC reached the NCAA Tournament’s second round last season; the teams have not met since 2018-19.
A seven-game homestand begins against UTSA on Nov. 6, followed by Arizona State on Nov. 10. Both reached the NCAA Tournament last season, and UNLV gets another chance at the Sun Devils after a 56-53 road loss.
Montana State visits Nov. 15, Rice Nov. 17 and Cincinnati Nov. 21. All three beat UNLV last season; Rice also won a program-record 29 games and the American regular-season title.
The seven-game homestand finishes at the Thomas & Mack Center with the UNLV Thanksgiving Turkey Tip-Off. The Lady Rebels face LMU on Nov. 25 and Butler on Nov. 27. By the end of November, UNLV will have played nine games when the exhibition is included, with eight taking place in the Las Vegas Valley.
UNLV travels to UConn on Dec. 2 and Boston University on Dec. 5. The Huskies went 38-1 last season and reached the Final Four, making Storrs one of the young roster’s strongest tests.
UC Santa Barbara visits Lee’s Family Forum on Dec. 13 in a game counted as a UNLV home date. The Lady Rebels then travel to Washington State on Dec. 16.
Vanguard closes the non-conference schedule Dec. 20 at The Pavilion. La Rocque said the goal is to have the young Lady Rebels “battle tested” before Mountain West play begins.
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