UNLV opens its biggest home test of the young season tonight as the Lady Rebels host the Baylor Bears, a program built on size, shot-making, and top-10 expectations. Both teams enter at 2-0, but their paths and profiles look nothing alike. For UNLV, this is the first true checkpoint of who they are and who they can become.
At its core, the matchup is a clash of identities:
UNLV’s physicality, free-throw pressure, and interior scoring versus Baylor’s perimeter firepower, elite rim protection, and Big 12 length.
Tonight reveals how competitive those identities are when the weight class jumps.
UNLV’s New Core: Roland & Alexander Set the Tone
Through two games, UNLV has found a clear hierarchy. Everything starts with Meadow Roland and Aaliyah Alexander, and everything else fits around their scoring gravity.
Meadow Roland: The Anchor
Roland’s early-season form has been dominant:
17.5 PPG, 12.0 RPG in 35.0 minutes
48% FG, 84.6% FT
Elite interior defense (1.5 STL, 2.5 BLK)
She’s controlling the glass, finishing through contact, and carrying the best two-way metrics on the team. Roland gives UNLV the matchup stability they need against a Baylor frontcourt with multiple 6-foot-3 bodies.
Aaliyah Alexander: The High-Usage Engine
Alexander brings scoring punch and relentless rim pressure:
18.0 PPG, 3.0 AST, 8.0 FTA per game
Responsible for a team-high 28% usage
She isn’t shooting efficiently yet from deep (14% from three), but her ability to get downhill and create fouls is the most reliable perimeter threat UNLV has right now. Against Baylor’s length, her decisions in the mid-range and at the rim will define the shot quality of the entire offense.
The Supporting Group
Jasmyn Lott (14.5 PPG) provides volume and free throws (12-for-12), but needs a clean shooting night.
Shelbee Brown (7.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG) is a major piece on the glass and in pick-and-roll coverage.
Destiny Leo might be the key spacing option. She’s UNLV’s most efficient shooter through two games.
Elohim, Colvin, and Destiny Brown bring depth and energy but must avoid early turnovers against Baylor’s pressure at the rim.
The Lady Rebels’ statistical identity is clear: low turnovers, heavy free throws, heavy paint scoring, and minimal three-point shooting. Their margin for error shrinks significantly if they have to trade threes with a high-major opponent.
Baylor’s Identity: Shot-Making, Length, and a Star Guard
Where UNLV plays through the paint and the free-throw line, Baylor relies on perimeter creation, lineup length, and one of the country’s highest-usage guards.
Taliah Scott: The Engine
Everything Baylor does begins with Taliah Scott, whose early-season numbers are massive:
26.5 PPG, 47% FG, 41% from three, 87.5% FT
Usage rate over 34%, among the highest in Division I
She’s a true three-level scorer who can manufacture shots late in the clock. Volume is a given. The real battle is whether UNLV can push her into contested twos instead of clean, in-rhythm threes.
Bella Fontleroy: The Ideal Counterbalance
Bella Fontleroy provides the spacing, versatility, and rebounding that make Scott’s creation even more dangerous:
15.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG
47.8% shooting, 40% from three
She forces frontcourt defenders into uncomfortable decisions: close out too hard and she drives; play soft and she shoots. UNLV’s forwards must stay attached without opening driving lanes.
Frontcourt Size and Rim Protection
Baylor’s front line adds size and rim defense UNLV hasn’t seen yet:
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs - 8.0 RPG
Kiersten Johnson - 7.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG
Kyla Abraham - 2.0 blocks per game
Their collective impact shows up in the team metrics:
Opponents shooting just 33.3% on twos
38.1% effective field goal percentage allowed
5.5 blocks per game
UNLV has made its living at the rim through two games. Baylor is built specifically to take that space away.
Matchups To Watch:
Three-Point Math
This is the swing stat of the night.
Baylor: 36.6% from three (top-60 nationally)
UNLV: 18.5% (bottom-10 nationally)
If Baylor reaches its typical 7-9 made threes, UNLV must compensate with a major advantage at the free-throw line to keep the scoring math balanced.
Free Throws - UNLV’s Built-In Edge
UNLV is elite at generating and converting free throws:
83.6% at the line (12th nationally)
3rd nationally in percentage of points from the stripe
Baylor defends without fouling, so getting to 20+ attempts is essential for UNLV to stay within striking distance.
Rebounding Discipline
The most physical matchup on the floor: Roland and Brown vs. Baylor’s length.
If the Bears climb into the 14-16 offensive rebound range, their extra possessions and put-backs tilt the efficiency battle firmly their way.
Turnovers
UNLV: 12.0 per game
Baylor: 17.5 per game
If UNLV wins the turnover battle by around five possessions, they create the additional shot volume they’ll need to offset Baylor’s perimeter shooting.
Keys To The Game For The Lady Rebels:
Get 40+ combined points from Roland and Alexander to anchor the offense.
Win the free-throw margin, both in attempts and makes.
Find a perimeter spark from Leo, Lott, or Elohim to balance the math.
Hold Baylor below eight made threes to prevent separation.
Win or at least split the rebounding battle against Baylor’s size.
Do those things, and UNLV can drag this into a late-game possession battle inside Cox Pavilion. Fail any one of them, and Baylor’s shooting + size combination becomes overwhelming.
Tonight won’t define UNLV’s season, but it will reveal the program’s competitive ceiling against a national opponent with Big 12 size, rotational depth, and a true All-American scoring engine. Baylor is built like the teams UNLV wants to measure itself against in March. The Lady Rebels don’t have to be perfect, but they do have to be connected, disciplined, and opportunistic in every possession-level battle that shapes the math of the game.
Bottom Line:
If UNLV can control the free-throw line, protect the glass, and keep Baylor’s shooters in check, the Lady Rebels have a path to turn this into a late-possession game in front of a home crowd that can influence momentum. And if Roland and Alexander play to their early-season form, UNLV’s top-end talent is good enough to withstand Baylor’s length.
Whatever the result, this matchup delivers the first real snapshot of what this retooled UNLV roster looks like when every mistake is magnified and every strength is tested. The Lady Rebels asked for a measuring stick. Tonight, they get one.
