The Lady Rebels of the University of Nevada Las Vegas took on the Creighton Bluejays in a critical matchup on Nov. 26. This was the first time that the two teams faced each other since Creighton eliminated UNLV in the group stages of the NCAA tournament in 2024. And graduate guard Destiny Leo, who was on the court, was just three points away from earning 2000 career points.
The crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, NV watched as Leo received a pass from teammate Teagan Colvin. She lined up along the arc and shot the ball, which drained into the net with ease, securing the 3-pointer. The pep band, witnessing the splash, cried out, “three points! One, two, three!” But little did they, or most others in the arena, know, Leo had just hit 2000 career points.
Leo played 18 minutes throughout the match in late November, scoring nine points and managing a block and two rebounds as well.
“For her to hit that milestone over our Thanksgiving tournament … I think that was really special,” UNLV head coach Lindy La Rocque told The IX Basketball. She also mentioned that Leo’s whole family was in attendance to witness the moment. “As for the opponent,” La Rocque continued, “we needed every single one of those points, so that was special in itself.”
Leo, a graduate student, transferred to Las Vegas over the summer. Coming from Cleveland State in the Horizon League, the Mountain West appealed to Leo.
“I was really excited to experience something new,” Leo told The IX Basketball. “I really enjoyed my visit and I feel like I made great relationships with the coaches and the players. I thought I was going to be surrounded by a high-level group of people, and that’s why I chose to come here.”
In Leo’s five seasons at Cleveland State she earned top accolades, including Horizon League Sixth Player of the Year as a freshman, Horizon League Player of the Year as a junior, and four All-Horizon League selections. She scored a program-best 329 3-pointers in her tenure with the Vikings, and alongside earning nearly 2,000 points while with Cleveland State, she secured 410 rebounds, made 234 assists and had 127 steals and 58 blocks.
“I think that I’m still adjusting and working every day to get better,” Leo explained. “[I’m] doing what I can to help my team. I think that’s most exciting for me.”
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How Las Vegas landed Leo
Before the season began, La Rocque had multiple slots to fill in the roster, and she was hunting for an elite 3-point shooter. That search led her straight to Leo, who wasn’t done with her college career just yet.
“Her 3-point shooting is her elite skill,” La Rocque said. “To have the numbers and percentages she’s had in her career — there’s a handful of players in the whole country that have been able to do that. When we were recruiting her, that was our need, our want, and our intention for wanting her to join our team.”
3-point shooting was a weakness for the Lady Rebels at the start of the season. In their matchup against the DePaul Blue Demons on Nov. 9, the Lady Rebels shot 19% from three, making only three 3-pointers the entire night (Leo scored two of them). Since then, her surge in 3-point shooting has helped the team secure critical victories, including against Creighton, as well as Northern Iowa, in their Thanksgiving tournament.
Conference play is right around the corner, and the Lady Rebels and Leo are ready to defend their crown. The group hopes to secure their fifth regular season conference title and dominate the Mountain West once again. And as the season progresses, the Lady Rebels are continuing to discover their roles and settle into their system. According to La Rocque, Leo is settling in well, being the flexible player they need her to be.
“She’s a tremendous teammate,” said La Rocque about Leo. “When her number is called, she doesn’t shy away from taking the shot and being ready to go. She’s doing everything that we’re asking. She’s coming off the bench for us right now, and she’s ready. When she gets in the game, we try to get her shots right away and try to maximize her offensive skill.”
The Lady Rebels are currently on the move, opening a four-game road trip with a 66-39 defeat over the University of Texas San Antonio Roadrunners on Wednesday night. Leo scored six points from two 3-pointers, and she managed a rebound, assist and two steals as well. In her previous eight games with her team, Leo has averaged 4.9 points per game and sustained a 39.3 field goal percentage.
UNLV has three more road games over the next two weeks, against Rice University, Cincinnati University, and Grand Canyon University. As Leo and Lady Rebels look to bring themselves back in the AP Top 25 poll, they’re ready for the challenges in these final non-conference games.
“Vegas is a great place to be,” Leo said triumphantly. It’s where she scored her 2,000th point, and perhaps there’s still more history to be made.
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