UNLV women’s basketball head coach Lindy La Rocque announced the promotion of Mia Bell to associate head coach.
“Mia Bell is Lady Rebels basketball! She has spent over 17 years serving this program and university with everything that she has to give,” said La Rocque. “She is the most deserving person to be named Associate Head Coach, it is truly my honor. I’m so thankful for all that Mia does for our program and excited for her to continue to grow and step into an even bigger role for our team.”
“I feel so grateful and honored to step into the Associate Head Coach role at my alma mater,” said Bell. “This university and program have my whole heart. Thank you, Lindy, for your trust, belief, and leadership. It truly means so much to me. I’m excited for this next chapter and will continue to pour everything I have into this place I love.”
Bell will begin her 17th year with the Lady Rebel program in the fall, as she first joined the Scarlet & Gray as a player for the 2009-10 season. She is a graduate of Las Vegas’ Durango High School and was a teammate of La Rocque’s. Bell is the first Las Vegas native to both play for the Lady Rebels and then serve on their coaching staff. While alongside La Rocque on the bench, Bell has had a dominant backcourt which includes: Kiara Jackson earning MW Sixth Player of the Year honors, the back-to-back assist/turnover ratio national leader and Amarachi Kimpson with a MW Freshman and Sixth Player of the Year nod. Additionally, Bell’s guard instruction lifted UNLV to new heights in 2021-22 as the Lady Rebels swept the Mountain West regular-season and tournament championships for the first time, earning the program’s first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2002. The Lady Rebels set multiple program records through six seasons including becoming three-time tournament champions and four-time regular season champions marking the first in program and Mountain West history. The backcourt saw much success with players Essence Booker, Justin Ethridge, Jackson, Kimpson, Alyssa Durazo-Frescas earning All-MW honors over four seasons. The Lady Rebels continue to reach unprecedented heights as this past season marked the fifth straight 20+ win season.
In her first six years on the bench after her playing career, the Lady Rebels reached the postseason twice (WNIT in both 2016-17 and 2017-18) and won the school’s first conference championship in 24 years as they claimed the 2017-18 Mountain West regular-season championship with a school-record 14-4 mark in MW play. She oversaw player development, seeing much success with the guards as three players (Dakota Gonzalez, Brooke Johnson (twice), Nikki Wheatley (twice) earned All-MW honors over the past four seasons.
