UNLV women counting on Desi-Rae Young to carry the day in NCAA Tournament

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Thursday, March 16, 2023 | 3:20 p.m.

Desi-Rae Young was named Mountain West Player of the Year in 2021-22, and the 6-foot-1 center came back and posted better numbers across the board this season, averaging 18.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game while shooting 59.7% from the field. That kind of sustained dominance is going to attract attention — especially from opponents.

Over the course of the last two years, it’s safe to say Young and her UNLV teammates have seen just about every type of defense that can be thrown at a post player. If it can be diagrammed on a whiteboard, a Mountain West foe has tried it, whether it’s for a full 40 minutes, a half, or even just a possession here and there.

So far, nothing has really worked. But UNLV expects Michigan to try its hand at slowing down Young just the same when the two teams meet on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (12 p.m., ESPNU).

UNLV head coach Lindy La Rocque said one of her first priorities in each game is to diagnose how the opponent is defending Young.

“We are aware that the other team’s game plan is going to center around Desi, as it should,” La Rocque said. “They have to have some sort of plan. We’ve seen different people do it throughout the year: a double team, a heavy sag, trying to be physical, trying to get her in foul trouble, different things.”

Before taking the court for the team’s final practice, Young confirmed that she has run the gamut of junk defenses since ascending to stardom.

Whether Michigan goes with an exotic scheme or plays it relatively straight, Young has the experience to deal with it.

“[Opponents] double-team, triple-team even sometimes,” Young said. “They front. I expect Michigan to do all of that. In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter about that, because if they stop one person, there’s four other people out there who can get the job done.”

Young averaged a career-high 2.1 assists this year, a sign that she is mastering the art of manipulating the defense and finding open shooters.

La Rocque praised Young’s emerging passing ability but stressed that UNLV can’t fall into a trap. Even if Michigan is overplaying the post, the Scarlet and Gray have to stay focused on “keeping the main thing, the main thing.”

“We’re going inside,” La Rocque said.

Senior point guard Essence Booker said she is going to personally see to it that Young is a constant scoring threat on the offensive end. If she senses that too many possessions have gone by without Young making a move, Booker will call her number.

“I try to make sure we get her going,” Booker said. “I try to make sure I call a play, whether Lindy called it or not, just to get the ball in Desi’s hands because that’s where it belongs.”

Michigan has size to spare on the inside, with senior forward Emily Kiser and junior forward Cameron Williams both standing 6-foot-3.

Despite the tale of the tape, and despite whatever defense Michigan has cooked up, Booker guaranteed that Young will produce on Friday.

“We’ve seen the bag full of tricks, to be honest,” Booker said. “A lot of different things I probably haven’t seen in my entire career. But it’s hard to stop a walking double-double. She is a walking double-double and she’s going to get a double-double tomorrow.”

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