UNLV Closes Out Season with No. 18 Hawaii Women's basketball will try to close season strong.
Lady Rebel Basketball This Week:
Thurs., Feb. 26 NO. 18 HAWAI'I at UNLV (Radio-Live) 5:00 p.m.
Game at Thomas & Mack Center (18,500), Las Vegas, Nev.
Game will be broadcast live on KSFN-1140 AM by Bob Blum
The UNLV women's basketball team will close out the 1997-98 season as it hosts No. 18 Hawai'i on Thursday, Feb. 26 at the Thomas & Mack Center (18,500) at 5:00 p.m. The game is considered a WAC crossover game and it will not count in either team's conference record. The game will preceed the Runnin' Rebels contest with Wyoming, which begins at 7:35 p.m. The Lady Rebels game may be heard live on KSFN-1140 AM with Bob Blum calling the action.
The Lady Rebels
The Lady Rebels (4-22, 3-11 WAC) lost to Utah (74-58) and BYU (65-61) last week at home in their final WAC contests of the season. UNLV, which will finish seventh in the WAC's Mountain Division, will not qualify for the WAC Tournament which is being held at the Thomas & Mack Center, March 2-7.
The Lady Rebels are led by senior guard Taneisha Gossett who is averaging 12.0 ppg. Junior forward Angalete Dye leads the team and is tied for fifth in the WAC in rebounding with 8.0 per game and is second on the team in scoring with 9.6 ppg. As a team UNLV is shooting 38 percent from the field, 29 percent from three-point range and 60 percent from the free throw line.
The Lady Rebels return seven players from last year's squad that recorded an overall record of 4-23, finishing seventh in the WAC's Pacific Division at 2-14. UNLV is participating in the Mountain Division this season because of the WAC's rotating quadrants. LaDonna McClain, who was in her second season as head coach at UNLV stepped down on Monday, Feb. 2 and departed with an overall record of 7-40.
Along with McClain, assistant coaches Sheryl Krmpotich and Marcus Payne resigned. Director of Basketball Operatons Steve Corraro, who is in his fifth season with the program, was named interim head coach and will run the program for the remainder of the season. He is 1-5 thus far and is assisted by Carrie Daniels, who is in her second season with the program.
The Opponent
No. 18 Hawai'i (23-2, 13-1 WAC) defeated Tulsa (69-51) and lost to Rice (76-71) on the road last week in its final WAC contests of the season. The loss to Rice snapped the Rainbow Wahine's 19-game winning streak.
UH will finish the season in first place in the WAC's Pacific Division. The Rainbow Wahine are led by senior guard Nani Cocket who is fourth in the WAC in scoring with 19.7 ppg. UH has four players averaging in double-figures in scoring. The other three are sophomore forward Kylie Page (17.9, sixth in the WAC), sophomore forward Raylene Howard (16.8, eighth in the WAC) and senior forward Brandi Ashby (10.0).
Ashby leads the team and is tied for seventh in the WAC in rebounding with 7.9 per game. As a team, Hawai'i is shooting 50 percent from the field, 38 percent from three-point range and 77 percent from the free throw line. UH finished the 1996-97 season with an overall record of 21-8 and was tied for second in the WAC's Pacific Division at 12-4. Head Coach Vince Goo is in his 11th year.
Series History
This will mark the 42nd meeting between UNLV and Hawai'i. UNLV leads the series 30-11. Hawai'i won the last meeting 105-81 this season in Honolulu on Feb. 7. UNLV is 16-2 vs. Hawai'i in games played in Las Vegas. Hawai'i has won the last two in Las Vegas including the matchup last season 72-46. Hawai'i has won the last four meetings overall.
Senior Salute
Thursday's game marks the final contest for three Lady Rebel seniors. Toby Girard, Taneisha Gossett, and Tekeira Strambler have been members of the Lady Rebels since Fall '96.
Career Stats G-GS FGM-A 3PTM-A FTM-A TP AVG OR DR TR AVG PF-D A TO BLK STL MIN Girard 53-42 177-537 17-92 66-93 437 8.2 31 96 127 2.4 119-1 146 223 3 78 1420Gossett 52-49 233-566 36-128 85-123 587 11.3 101 172 273 5.3 120-2 97 132 24 76 1625Strambler 35-1 23-76 0-2 19-30 65 1.9 10 17 27 0.8 19-0 7 25 3 7 240Possible Lady Rebel Starters No. Player Pos. Ht. Yr.-Exp. Hometown/Last School 1997-98 Statistics00 Amy Wunderlich F 6-0 Jr.-2L Norco, Calif./Norco HS 7.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg11 Kristen Pool G 5-6 Jr.-JC Provo, Utah/Utah Valley State Coll. 7.7 ppg, 2.2 apg15 Liz Wolfe C 6-3 Jr.-2L Coquitlam, B.C./Centennial SS 6.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg20 Karen Webster G 5-8 Jr.-2L Bellevue, Wash./Sammamish HS 4.0 ppg, 2.0 apg31 Brooke Ingalls F 6-0 Fr.-HS Redmond, Wash./Eastlake HS 2.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg Lady Rebels Off The Bench No. Player Pos. Ht. Yr.-Exp. Hometown/Last School 1997-98 Statistics21 Angalete Dye F 6-1 Jr.-2L Vacaville, Calif./Will C. Wood HS 9.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg24 Toby Girard G 5-5 Sr.-1L Tempe, Ariz./Yavapai College 7.6 ppg, 2.3 apg30 Kedonica Qualls G 5-6 Jr.-JC Jonesboro, La./Kilgore (Texas) JC 2.1 ppg, 0.7 rpg33 Taneisha Gossett G 5-9 Sr.-1L Phoenix, Ariz./Central Arizona Coll. 12.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg40 Tekeira Strambler F 5-11 Sr.-1L Midland, Texas/Central Arizona Coll. 1.1 ppg, 0.9 rpg54 Eishia Brightwell F 6-1 Jr.-JC Lawrenceburg, Ind./Vincennes Univ. 3.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg
McClain Resigns As UNLV's Women's Basketball Head Coach
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (2/2/98) - The UNLV athletics department announced the resignation of UNLV women's basketball Head Coach LaDonna McClain Monday along with assistant coaches Sheryl Krmpotich and Marcus Payne. McClain's resignation will be effective immediately and Director of Women's Basketball Operations Steve Corraro will assume the head coaching duties on an interim basis for the remainder of the season. Assistant Coach Carrie Daniels will help Corraro run the program for its final seven games, which will be played over a 22-day span.
"I'm very disappointed it didn't work out at UNLV," McClain said. "I think my resignation is best for the team, the school and for myself. Hopefully I learned some very important lessons, but this is not what I envisioned my career here to be like."
McClain, who began coaching at UNLV at the start of the 1996-97 season, compiled an overall record of 7-40 and was 4-21 in conference games.
"I'm disappointed to see that Coach McClain's career here was not as successful as we had hoped," said UNLV Director of Athletics Charles Cavagnaro. "It was not a case of lack of effort on her part or her staff, but it came down to a situation that was not working. It does give us a jump start in locating a new coach because of the timing involved. We will conduct an exhaustive national search to find the best possible replacement. We are not giving up on this season, however. These young women have a chance to compete in the conference tournament and we are going to give them every opportunity we can to help them achieve that goal."
Atop the NCAA
Junior forward Angalete Dye has recorded the fourth-best rebounding performance for any individual in the nation this season. Dye pulled down 23 rebounds vs. Long Beach State on Nov. 23. Since then three players have recorded 24 rebounds. Dye was tied for 16th in the nation in rebounding as of Dec. 15. She had averaged 10.3 rebounds per game through seven games. She is no longer among the NCAA leaders in rebounding.
Leaders of the WAC
Junior forward Angalete Dye is tied for fifth in the WAC in rebounding. Dye is averaging 8.0 rebounds per game. She is also tied for sixth in the WAC in blocks with 1.1 per game. Senior guard Taneisha Gossett is tied for 19th in steals with 1.8 per game. As a team the Lady Rebels are sixth in the WAC in rebounding, pulling down 39.1 per game. UNLV is also seventh in blocks with 2.4 and seventh in steals with 10.3 per game.
Lady Rebels in the Mack
UNLV will host its final game of the 1997-98 season at the Thomas & Mack Center vs. Hawai'i this Thursday. The Lady Rebels have hosted three games in the building so far this season. UNLV lost to Northern Arizona (91-72) on Dec. 17, lost to then-No. 3 Connecticut (80-47) on Dec. 27 and defeated Loyola Marymount (86-60) on Dec. 30. UNLV has hosted 89 regular season games at the T&M over 15 years and has a mark of 69-20 in those games.
UNLV hosted two games in the building during the 1996-97 season, losing to UCSB (101-77) on Dec. 30 and defeating the Air Force Academy (85-62) on Feb. 20.
Lady Rebel Honors
Senior guard Taneisha Gossett was selected to the Las Vegas Club Shootout All-Tournament Team. Gossett recorded two double-doubles in the tournament, which was held Dec. 5-6. She had 13 points and 12 rebounds vs. Youngstown State and 16 points and 13 rebounds vs. Middle Tennessee State.
Top-Ranked Schedule
UNLV had two opponents this season that are currently ranked in the top four. The Lady Rebels lost to Louisiana Tech (4th-USA Today/ESPN, 4th-AP) on Nov. 28 and lost to Connecticut (2nd-USA Today/ESPN, 2nd-AP) on Dec. 27.
UNLV faced Utah twice this season. The Utes are now ranked 16th in the USA Today/ESPN poll and 18th in the AP. The Lady Rebels also faced Hawai'i on Feb. 7 and will battle the Rainbow Wahine again Thursday. Hawai'i is ranked 18th in the USA Today/ESPN poll and 17th in the AP. Other opponents on UNLV's schedule that are receiving votes are Colorado State and New Mexico.
Last Week
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (2/19/98) - Senior forward Angie Thill led all scorers with 22 points and three other Utes scored in double figures as No. 17 Utah defeated the UNLV Lady Rebels 74-58 in a Western Athletic Conference women's basketball game at Lied Gymnasium. Utah opened the second half with a 9-1 run over 2:10 to take a 44-28 lead. UNLV cut the score to 56-44 with 10:24 left, but could get no closer as Utah held on for the victory.
Utah out-shot the Lady Rebels 51 percent to 46 percent for the game and made 89 percent of its free throws to 45 percent for UNLV. Utah led UNLV 35-27 at halftime as it out-rebounded the Lady Rebels 22-15 in the first half. Utah (20-3, 10-3) was assisted in the win by senior guard Julie Krommenhoek who recorded 18 points. Sophomore center Kristi Rose and freshman forward Lindsay Sodja each had 11 points. UNLV (4-21, 3-10) was led by senior guard Taneisha Gossett who had 12 points. Junior center Liz Wolfe added 10 points for the Lady Rebels.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (2/21/98) - Junior guard Amanda Covington hit two free throws with 19.6 seconds remaining to break a 61-61 tie as Brigham Young defeated the UNLV Lady Rebels 65-61 in a Western Athletic Conference women's basketball game at Lied Gymnasium. After UNLV senior guard Toby Girard fouled Covington, she received a technical foul for throwing the ball against the baseline wall.
BYU senior forward Barbie Carmichael missed both technical-foul shots, but BYU rebounded the ball and was fouled with 12.6 left. Covington made the second free throw to give the Cougars a three-point lead. The Lady Rebels missed on their final shot and fouled with 2.2 seconds left. UNLV led 57-50 with 5:29 remaining in the contest, but BYU outscored the Lady Rebels 15-4 over the rest of the game. BYU (12-13, 6-8) was led by senior guard Kari Gallup's team-high 17 points.
Freshman center April Hayes added 11 and Carmichael scored 10. UNLV (4-22, 3-11) was led by junior forward Amy Wunderlich's game-highs of 19 points and nine rebounds. Junior forward Angalete Dye added 13 points and senior guard Taneisha Gossett scored 12.
The Last Time
When UNLV defeated Wyoming and Air Force for two straight wins, it marked the first time the Lady Rebels won back-to-back games since the 1995-96 season when UNLV defeated UNR and CSULB in consecutive games. Every Lady Rebel who played in the Air Force game scored, which marked the first time that has happened this season. UNLV also did it in the loss to Utah on Feb. 19.
The last time that occcured prior to this season was Dec. 6, 1996 when UNLV played at Oregon. The Lady Rebels had seven players on that trip and each one played and scored in the contest. UNLV broke its 26-game road losing streak by defeating Air Force (88-74) on Jan. 10. Since then the Lady Rebels have lost five straight on the road. UNLV's last road win before Air Force was at Long Beach State (64-63) during the 1995-96 season. UNLV is in the midst of a five-game losing streak. The last time the Lady Rebels won was vs. Air Force on Feb. 4.
The Last Time vs. Hawai'i
HONOLULU, Hawai'i (2/7/98) - Sophomore forward Raylene Howard led all scorers with 27 points and recorded a game-high 11 rebounds as No. 18 Hawai'i defeated the UNLV Lady Rebels 105-81 in a Western Athletic Conference crossover game at Stan Sheriff Center. Because UNLV is in the Mountain Division and Hawai'i is in the Pacific Division the game did not count in each team's conference record.
Leading 31-22 with 6:28 left in the first half, Hawai'i went on a 20-2 run over 4:56 and led 57-32 at halftime. The Rainbow Wahine made 20-of-21 free throws in the first half compared to UNLV's 3-of-9. UNLV cut the Rainbow Wahine's lead to 20 points when it trailed 83-63 at the 8:43 mark. UH then went on a 19-4 run over the next 4:19 to seal the victory. Hawai'i outshot UNLV 52 percent to 49 percent from the field and made 84 percent of its free throws (38-of-45) to UNLV's 45 percent (9-of-20).
UNLV (4-18, 3-7) was led by senior guard Toby Girard's 20 points and five assists. Senior guard Taneisha Gossett recorded 14 points, while junior forward Angalete Dye and junior guard Kristen Pool each had 11. Junior forward Amy Wunderlich led the team with nine rebounds. Hawai'i (20-1, 10-0) was assisted by senior guard Nani Cockett's 21 points and sophomore guard Kylie Page's 20.
Last Year
The Lady Rebels struggled last year in LaDonna McClain's first season in Las Vegas. UNLV recorded a record of 4-23 overall and 2-14 in WAC play. The Lady Rebels finished seventh in the Pacific Division, failing to qualify for the WAC Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Lady Rebel Returnees
The Lady Rebels return eight players from last year's roster. 6-1 junior forward Angalete Dye is one of the returning post players. She recorded career highs of 30 points and 13 rebounds vs. TCU, the last game of the 1996-97 season. One of three seniors, 5-5 guard Toby Girard ran the point last season. She averaged 8.9 ppg. Another senior, 5-9 guard Taneisha Gossett returns as the Lady Rebels' leading scorer, recording 10.7 ppg during 1996-97.
Sophomore guard Sara Hoopes, the only local player on the team, redshirted last year and is currently academically ineligible. The final senior, 5-11 forward Tekeira Strambler saw limited action last season recording a career-best 16 points vs. Fairfield. Karen Webster, a 5-8 junior guard returns at the two-guard spot. She averaged 3.3 ppg last season. Liz Wolfe, a 6-3 junior center looks to be one of the more improved players on the team.
Wolfe averaged 3.1 ppg and 3.7 rpg last year. The final returnee is 6-foot junior forward Amy Wunderlich. The most physical player on the team, she averaged 6.1 ppg and 5.0 rpg.
New Faces
The Lady Rebels have six new additions to the program, four coming from junior college programs and two out of high school. Eishia Brightwell, a 6-1 junior from Lawrenceburg, Ind., comes to UNLV from Vincennes University where she averaged 14.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 2.1 bpg. Rashmi Houston, a 5-9 junior guard from Pulaski, Tenn., played at Northwest Shoals Community College in Ala., where she averaged 14 ppg, 6 rpg and 4 apg last year.
She injured her right ACL during practice prior to this season's opening game. She had surgery and will use this season as a redshirt year. Kristen Pool, a 5-6 point guard from Provo, Utah, attended Utah Valley State College averaging 6.0 ppg, 5.8 apg and 2.1 spg as the team won the conference championship with a 25-7 mark last year. Kedonica Qualls, the final junior-college transfer, is a 5-6 junior guard from Jonesboro, La.
She went to Kilgore Junior College in Texas where she averaged 7 ppg, 5 apg and 3 spg last season. Brooke Ingalls is a freshman forward from Redmond, Wash. She attended Eastlake High School, averaging 13 ppg, 9 rpg and 5 apg her senior season. Tina Garcia is a freshman guard from Huntington Beach, Calif., who attended Mater Dei High School. She had reconstructive knee surgery during the summer and is finishing up her rehabilitation. Garcia will use this season as a redshirt year.
LaDonna McClain Leaves UNLV With 7-40 Mark
Head Coach LaDonna McClain (Missouri Southern, '87) who came to UNLV from Austin Peay State University to start the 1996-97 season resigned on Monday, Feb. 2 and recorded a 7-40 mark at UNLV. She left with a career record of 67-143 in her eighth season. Her 1997-98 record was 3-17 when she stepped down.
Assistant coaches Sheryl Krmpotich (Xavier, '92) and Marcus Payne (Southwestern, '87), who came with McClain to Las Vegas, stepped down as well.
Corraro Takes Over
Director of Basketball Operations Steve Corraro who is in his fifth year with the program will assume the head coaching duties for the remainder of the season. Corraro is 1-5 thus far and is assisted by Carrie Daniels (Austin Peay, '96) who is in her second season as Lady Rebel assistant coach. Daniels came to UNLV with McClain from Austin Peay State University where she was a standout guard.
UNLV Ticket Prices
Admission for UNLV women's basketball games is $4.00 for adults, $2.00 for students and $2.00 for UNLV faculty and staff. UNLV students are admitted free with valid I.D. For more information please call 895-3900.
UNLV on TV
UNLV has been on TV three times this season. UNLV's game at Long Beach State was shown on Fox Sports West 2 on a taped-delayed basis. The Lady Rebels were televised locally on the islands when they played at Hawai'i and most recently were on Fox Sports West 2, Fox Sports Rocky Mountain and Fox Sports Southwest when they played at New Mexico.
1997-98 WAC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll (First place votes in parentheses) Pacific Division Pts. 1. Hawai`i (10) 110 2. San Diego State (3) 100 3. Rice (2) 95 4. SMU (1) 86 5. TCU 68 6. Fresno State 50 7. San Jose State 31 8. Tulsa 28 Mountain Division Pts.1. Utah (12) 1172. Colorado State (4) 1083. New Mexico 904. Brigham Young 775. Wyoming 656. UTEP 507. UNLV 398. Air Force 221998 WAC ChampionUtah (11)Colorado State (3)Hawai`i (2)ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLLGames through Feb. 22 Rank Team Record Pts Prv 1. Tennessee (39) 30-0 975 1 2. Connecticut 27-2 920 2 3. Old Dominion 24-2 900 3 4. Louisiana Tech 21-3 862 4 5. Stanford 17-5 820 5 6. Texas Tech 20-4 784 6 7. Arizona 18-5 678 8 8. Duke 20-6 676 11 9. N. Carolina St. 21-5 658 10 10. North Carolina 21-6 612 7 11. Fla. International 23-1 511 13 12. Florida 20-7 496 12 13. Illinois 18-8 475 9 14. Vanderbilt 19-7 383 14 15. Virginia 18-8 355 15 16. Clemson 22-6 325 19 17. W. Kentucky 21-7 287 18 18. Utah 21-3 286 20 19. Hawai'i 23-2 264 16 20. Alabama 20-8 258 17 21. Stephen F.Austin 22-3 192 22 22. Iowa St. 22-5 165 24 23. Washington 17-7 159 21 24. Wisconsin 20-8 158 23 25. Iowa 16-9 78 NROthers receiving votes: SW Missouri St. 56, Nebraska 50,Rutgers 42, UCLA 42, Memphis 34, Drake 32, Liberty 30,Georgia 25, Marquette 17, Tulane 13, Colorado St. 11,Oregon 10, New Mexico 9, Auburn 7, Kent 6, Butler 5,Purdue 3, Kansas 2, George Washington 1, Harvard 1,Tennessee Tech 1, Youngstown St. 1.USA TODAY/ESPN TOP 25Games through Feb. 22Rank Team Record Pts Prv 1. Tennessee (60) 30-0 1,500 1 2. Connecticut 27-2 1,424 2 3. Old Dominion 24-2 1,383 3 4. Louisiana Tech 21-3 1,311 4 5. Texas Tech 20-4 1,240 5 6. Stanford 17-5 1,184 6 7. North Carolina St. 21-5 1,095 8 8. Arizona 18-5 1,016 10 9. North Carolina 21-6 996 7 10. Duke 20-6 972 13 11. Illinois 18-8 760 9 12. Florida 20-7 730 12 13. Vanderbilt 19-7 705 11 14. Florida Internat. 23-1 642 16 15. Virginia 18-8 604 14 16. Utah 21-3 530 17 17. Clemson 22-6 495 19 18. Hawai'i 23-2 448 15 19. Alabama 20-8 402 18 20. Western Kentucky 21-7 382 20 21. Wisconsin 20-8 348 22 22. Nebraska 21-7 207 23 23. Stephen F. Austin 22-3 188 24 24. Iowa State 22-5 180 25 25. Washington 17-7 171 21OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Iowa 87, Tulane 61, Purdue 53,Rutgers 52, Georgia 44, Marquette 43, Memphis 37,Southwest Missouri State 34, Drake 33, Colorado State 29,Louisville 22, Notre Dame 18, UCLA 13, UC-Santa Barbara 10,Liberty 8, New Mexico 7, Southern Methodist 5, Arkansas 4,Kansas 4, Cincinnati 3, Michigan 3, Rice 3, Indiana 2,Northeast Louisiana 2, Portland 2, Tennessee Tech 2,Arkansas State 1, George Washington 1, Holy Cross 1,Kent 1, Miami (Fla.) 1, Santa Clara 1.1997-98 WAC Standings (as of Feb. 24)Mountain Division WAC Games All Games W L Pct. W L Pct.Utah 11 3 .786 21 3 .875Colorado State 11 3 .786 22 4 .846UTEP 10 4 .714 15 9 .625New Mexico 10 4 .714 21 6 .778Brigham Young 6 8 .429 12 13 .480Wyoming 5 9 .357 9 16 .360UNLV 3 11 .214 4 22 .154Air Force 0 14 .000 5 20 .200Pacific Division WAC Games All Games W L Pct. W L Pct.Hawai'i 13 1 .929 23 2 .920Rice 11 3 .786 18 7 .720SMU 11 3 .786 19 6 .760Fresno State 6 8 .429 12 14 .462Tulsa 5 9 .367 9 16 .360TCU 4 10 .286 13 13 .500San Diego State 4 10 .286 9 15 .375San Jose State 2 12 .143 6 21 .222
LADY REBELS ON KSFN
The dean of West Coast broadcasters, Bob Blum returns for his tenth season broadcasting Lady Rebel basketball. This season, Blum will broadcast all 27 regular-season games as well as any WAC Tournament or other post-season contests on KSFN-1140 AM.
1998 WAC TOURNEY
For the second straight year, the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV will serve as the site of the WAC Women's and Men's Basketball Tournaments. The women's tournament will be held March 2-7 and will involve 12 of the 16 WAC teams. The top two teams from each division will receive a first-round bye, while the remaining eight teams will play first-round games on March 2.
The women's quarterfinals will take place on March 4 with the same game times as the first round. The semifinals are slated for March 6 with the championship game scheduled for March 7.
