Jan. 24, 2001
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
STORYLINE: The UNLV Lady Rebels (12-4, 2-2) will play for the first time in seven days when they travel to San Diego to tackle Mountain West Conference travel partner San Diego State (10-7, 2-2) ... Saturday's game will be the only one on the slate for both teams this week ... The game will settle a tie for third place in the MWC standings ... Both teams have identical 2-2 records in the league, with wins over BYU and Air Force and losses to Utah and New Mexico ... UNLV seeks revenge after a last-second layup propelled the Aztecs to a 54-52 victory in San Diego last season ... The Rebels are a perfect 8-0 on Saturdays this season.
LADY REBELS ON THE AIR: All Lady Rebel games are broadcast in Las Vegas on KENO 1460 AM and throughout the world on unlvrebels.com. Returning for his 14th season as the Voice of the Lady Rebels, Bob Blum, the dean of West Coast broadcasters, will deliver the play-by-play. Joining him courtside will be Lady Rebel SID Kevin Force, who handles the color commentary for all road games.
TRAVEL PLANS: UNLV will depart Las Vegas from the Thomas & Mack Center at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 26, and arrive in San Diego on Southwest flight #2029 at 1:10 p.m. PST. While in San Diego, the team will be staying at the Marriott Hotel, (619) 692-3800. The team will return to Las Vegas on Sunday on Southwest flight #877 and arrive at 9:20 a.m. PST.
THE LADY REBELS: UNLV (12-4, 2-2) returns 11 letterwinners and four starters from last season's 17-12 team that finished fifth in the inaugural season of the Mountain West Conference ... The Rebels split its pair of games last week in MWC play, falling at New Mexico, 79-51, and knocking off Air Force, 73-42 ... Head coach Regina Miller is in her third season with the Lady Rebels and has a record of 46-27 (.630) ... Miller collected her 100th career victory as a head coach in the win over Eastern Washington ... UNLV is led by Linda Fr?hlich, who paces the MWC in scoring with 18.1 ppg and ranks second in rebounding with 7.7 rpg.
ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE: San Diego State (10-7, 2-2) fared the same as the Rebels last week, splitting its pair of MWC games ... SDSU defeated Air Force by one point, 50-49, before losing at New Mexico, 86-66 ... In fact, the Aztecs have an identical record as UNLV against MWC competition with all the same results ... The Aztecs return seven letterwinners and four starters from last season's 9-19 team that finished tied for sixth in the Mountain West Conference with a 4-10 mark ... They are coached by Barb Smith, who has a 36-60 (.375) record in her fourth season at SDSU ... Junior forward Tanisha Knight leads the Aztecs in scoring at 11.2 ppg and in rebounding with 5.3 rpg.
SAN DIEGO STATE SERIES NOTES: SDSU leads the series, 11-9 ... The Rebels snapped a three-game winning streak in the series with their 69-63 win at the Thomas & Mack Center last year ... The two schools met twice annually from 1985-86 to 1989-90 as rivals in the Big West Conference, with UNLV taking a 6-4 edge over that span ... The series began in 1978-79. After UNLV won the first two meetings, SDSU reeled off five straight ... In last year's game at Cox Arena, Shannon Lee drove and hit a layup with 28.7 seconds remaining to push the Aztecs to a two-point upset. Linda Fr?hlich grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds and scored 22 points, pushing her over the 1,000-point mark for her career ... The SDSU roster shows no players from Nevada, but the Rebels' Courtney Swanson hails from San Diego ... Lee and UNLV's Tiana Sanders were teammates at Muir High School in Pasadena, Calif.
WITH THE BALL: Through 16 games, UNLV is averaging 68.8 points per game, which ranks third in the MWC ... The Rebels lead the league in field goal percentage, shooting .450 (402-893) from the field and rank second in three-point shooting perecentage at .369 (62-168) ... Six Rebels (Fr?hlich, Gambill, Gl?ser, Ingalls, Johansson and Jinks) are shooting 75 percent or better from the line ... UNLV's 31-point victory over Air Force was the third straight win in the series by 30 or more ... Utah held the Rebels to a season-low 29.3 percent from the floor ... UNLV's victory over UC Irvine on Jan. 6 was the 10th of the season and marked the earliest in a season that UNLV had won its 10th game since defeating Pacific, 64-54, on Jan. 2, 1991, to improve to 10-0 ... The Rebels' 37-point win over Prairie View A&M was the team's largest margin of victory since the Rebels posted a 92-49 win at UC Irvine in the 1993-94 season ... Against Pacific, Linda Fr?hlich broke the school record for single-game shooting percentage, connecting on 16-of-17 (.941) field goals for a season-high 37 points. In just 30 minutes, Fr?hlich was three points shy of a career high and seven points shy of the school record ... Dayna Gambill dished a then-career-high 10 assists against Pacific, just four short of the school record of 14. Five days later, she broke her career high again, handing out 11 scoring chances against Nevada, Reno while turning the ball over only three times. Not only does she again lead the team in assists with 74 (4.9 apg), but she has increased her scoring output to 7.3 ppg, up from a 5.6 ppg average last season ... UNLV shot a season-best .870 (20-23) from the line against Cal State Northridge ... Constance Jinks has scored in double figures in six of the last eight games ... Kinesha Davis broke out for a season-best 16 points against BYU on 6-of-8 shooting and needs only six points to achieve 1,000 for her career.
DEFENDING THE POST: The Lady Rebels are doing it with defense this season. They have allowed only three opponents to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor in a game and have lost all three games, while only seven of their 16 foes have topped the 40 percent shooting mark. Five of the Rebels' last seven opponents have been held under 40-percent shooting ... The Rebels are forcing nearly 20 turnovers per game and rank second in the MWC in turnover margin (+2.00). At least five times against BYU, UNLV forced a turnover by denying the Cougars a shot before the 30-second clock expired ... The Rebels kept Air Force to just 23.9 percent shooting from the floor, the lowest total by any opponent all season, and did not allow the Falcons a shot from inside three-point range for the first 16 minutes of the game ... Linda Fr?hlich ranks second in the MWC in rebounding with 7.7 rpg and leads the league with nearly 6.0 defensive boards each game ... Brooke Ingalls pulled down a career-high 11 boards against Cal State Northridge to record her first-ever double-double ... The Rebels stole the ball a season-high 16 times from Pacific ... Viveca L?f posted the league's top rebounding game this season with 16 boards against Arkansas-Pine Bluff ... The addition of some front line height has also caused a swell in the Rebels' block totals. UNLV has 42 blocked shots in 16 games and didn't record its 42nd block until the 19th game of last year. Linda Fr?hlich leads the team and ranks fourth in the MWC with 15 blocks, followed by Petra Gl?ser's eight and Viveca L?f's six.
UNLV RECEIVES VOTES IN AP POLL: The Lady Rebels made their third appearance in the Associated Press poll, receiving one vote on Jan. 1. However, that vote was lost in the Jan. 8 poll despite UNLV's 70-56 victory over UC Irvine in its only appearance last week. UNLV received three votes in the 2000-01 Preseason poll, tying them with Stephen F. Austin for 45th. After losing the three votes without playing a game, the Rebels reclaimed two of the votes in the Dec. 4 poll and tied for 49th. Those votes were lost in the week following a loss at No. 27 Arizona. The Associated Press poll ranks only the top 25 teams, but includes all other teams that also received votes. UNLV has not been ranked among the top 25 since Jan. 18, 1994, when the Lady Rebels ranked 25th with a 10-2 overall record.
ON THE TUBE: Both of UNLV's games last week were shown throughout the Las Vegas valley on KTUD Channel 25/Cable 14 on tape delay. Three times this season the Las Vegas UPN affiliate has broadcast the Lady Rebels from the Thomas & Mack Center, and it plans to show at least one more contest, UNLV's Feb.1 matchup against Colorado State.
LADY REBELS RETURN TO THE THOMAS & MACK: After rolling to a 10-5 record in its first full season at the Thomas & Mack Center, UNLV is happy to return to the venue in 2000-01. The Lady Rebels are 8-2 at home this season and own an all-time record of 93-31 (.750) in the Mack, in the arena's 18th season of basketball. This will be the last season that the Lady Rebels play in the Mack with the new 3,300-seat Cox Pavilion set to open next year.
PACKING THE MACK: The voters aren't the only ones who have noticed the improved play out of the Lady Rebels. A season-best 1,277 fans rolled in to watch UNLV host defending conference champ Utah on Jan. 11. In 10 home games this season, UNLV has averaged 763 fans per game. That is up nearly 40 percent from last year, an average of 200 more fans per game. The Rebels have five more games scheduled at home before hosting the Mountain West Conference Tournament in March.
PACK THE MACK 2: Speaking of Packing the Mack, the UNLV athletics department will sponsor "Pack the Mack 2," a special promotion set for the Feb. 3 game against Wyoming. All tickets for the game have been discounted to $2 in order to help achieve the department's goal to break the state attendance record for women's basketball. The mark of 3,754 was set in 1985 when the Lady Rebels hosted a NCAA Tournament game against San Diego State. For each ticket sold, UNLV will donate $1 to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Las Vegas. The university is also looking for local businesses to purchase discounted tickets and donate them to area schools and community centers. The business that puchases the most tickets will be recognized at both a men's and women's home basketball game. Last season's "Pack the Mack" promotion against New Mexico drew a season-high 1,152 fans. For tickets or for more information, call 895-UNLV.
MAKING THE PASS: One reason that UNLV's offense has been so successful this season is that players are making the extra pass when necessary. The Lady Rebels rank second in the Mountain West Conference in assists this season, averaging 17.8 dishes per game, and 67 percent of their buckets have come off of a pass (269 assists on 402 field goals). Individually, Dayna Gambill ranks second in the MWC in total assists (74), assists per game (4.9) and assist/turnover ratio (1.90). Linda Fr?hlich also ranks among the league leaders, checking in at fifth with a 3.85 apg average and 12th with a 1.06 assist/turnover ratio.
FR?HLICH CLIMBS THE CHARTS: Linda Fr?hlich is steadily climbing the UNLV career lists for both scoring and rebounding. The junior forward entered the season with 1,261 career points and has added 235 this season for a total of 1,496, which ranks her seventh in school history. She needs just nine points to surpass Gwynn Hobbs in sixth place. The All-American also has pulled down 677 rebounds in her career, which ranks 10th all-time. She needs just 12 more rebounds to surpass Merlelynn Lange in ninth place.
DAVIS NEARS MILESTONE: With 118 points this season, Kinesha Davis is closing in on 1,000 career points. She registered most of that total as a freshman at Western Illinois in 1997-98, breaking the Mid-Continent Conference freshman scoring record with 504 points. She tacked on another 372 points as a UNLV sophomore last season and needs just six more points to achieve the coveted milestone. Averaging 7.3 points per game this season, Davis most likely will reach that total in the Rebels' next game at San Diego State and become the second Rebel to do so in the Cox Arena in as many years. She would become the second active Lady Rebel with 1,000 career points, as Linda Fr?hlich reached that mark last season -- in UNLV's game at San Diego State.
AWARDS ABUNDANT AT TOURNAMENTS: Not only did the Lady Rebels win their home tournament for the first time since the 1993-94 season, but they managed to walk away with all the hardware, too. Sophomore Constance Jinks was honored as the tourney's most valuable player after scoring 18 and 17 points in respective games. Freshman Petra Gl?ser and junior Kinesha Davis both earned all-tournament nods for their role in helping UNLV to the title. One week later, UNLV repeated by winning the Roger L. White Invitational in Evanston, Ill., and Jinks repeated by claiming MVP kudos after scoring a career-high 33 in the championship game. Junior Linda Fr?hlich was chosen as an all-tournament honoree.
TEAM OF THE WEEK?: Nine times this season the Mountain West Conference has honored the league's top player for each week, and THREE of those times a Rebel has captured the award. After Constance Jinks captured back-to-back tournament MVPs, the 5-7 guard from Chicago was selected as the MWC Player of the Week on Dec. 4, becoming only the second Lady Rebel to earn the honor. One week later, freshman Petra Gl?ser added her name to the list, claiming the honor on Dec. 11. Gl?ser scored a career-high 21 against Arizona and followed that performance with a 8-for-9 shooting night from the floor against Eastern Washington. A scheduling break which allowed the Lady Rebels 10 days off to concentrate in final exams prevented a three-peat as UNLV did not play over that span. However, when the next award was announced on Jan. 3, it went to Linda Fr?hlich for her school-record setting performance against Pacific. It was the fourth time in her career she had been so honored. No other team has earned the honor more than twice.
MILLER REACHES CENTURY MARK IN WINS: UNLV head coach Regina Miller achieved a coveted career milestone in the Rebels' victory over Eastern Washington -- her 100th victory. Miller now has an overall coaching record of 106-127 in her ninth season as a head coach, including a 60-100 mark compiled in six seasons at Western Illinois, and is 46-27 in her third season at UNLV.
UCSB GAME CANCELED: The Lady Rebels' Jan. 3 game at UC Santa Barbara was canceled due to a scheduling error by the Gauchos and will not be played. UNLV will play 26 regular season games this year.
ALL-UMLAUT TEAM: One statistic that the Lady Rebels are almost guaranteed to lead the country in this season is umlauts. An umlaut is a vowel sound caused by partial assimilation occurring in the following syllable and is indicated with a pair of dots over the vowel. After having just one umlaut in both of the last two seasons, the Lady Rebels are up to three on this year's roster: senior Viveca L?f, junior Linda Fr?hlich and freshman Petra Gl?ser.
IN THE TREES: Speaking of L?f and Gl?ser, the two overseas additions have helped UNLV to become the tallest team in the MWC. At 6-3 and 6-6 respectively, both are taller than any player on UNLV's 1999-00 roster. Throw in freshman Padra Strong, who stands 6-4, and the Rebels are no longer looking up at the rest of the league. UNLV boasts three of the MWC's 11 players that check in at 6-3 or taller, while only Gl?ser, Strong, Caroline Matthews of Utah and Morgan Vargas of San Diego State can reach the 6-4 mark.
AYE, AYE, CAP'N: Head coach Regina Miller has named senior Brooke Ingalls and junior Linda Fr?hlich as co-captains for the 2000-01 season. They rank first and second respectively in games played among active players.
SPORTS PROFESSIONALS: Two Lady Rebels are already working on the professional careers, although off of the basketball court. Seniors Brooke Ingalls and Marenna Nyffeler both serve as interns in the UNLV athletics department. In addition to helping promote their team behind the scenes, both players write a piece for unlvrebels.com, the Official Athletic Site for UNLV on the internet. Ingalls is an assistant in the UNLV Sports Information Office and contributes a weekly diary called the "NoteBrooke," available only on the web site. Nyffeler is beginning her second semester as an intern in the Sports Marketing Department and provides a one-on-one interview with a different teammate each week on the net. Both players plan to graduate in May with their degrees in communications.
FR?HLICH RETURNS FROM GERMANY: As one of the top players in her home country of Germany, Linda Fr?hlich was selected to the German National team and competed with the squad for 12 days in mid-November. Although she missed UNLV's first three games of the season, the Lady Rebels managed to escape unscathed. Meanwhile, Fr?hlich helped Germany to a 1-1 record at the qualifications for the European Championships. Germany defeated Romania by 28 points in Freiburg, Germany, and lost to Lithuania in Vilnius, Lithuania, by 12 points. To qualify, Germany needs Lithuania to defeat Romania, which would send Fr?hlich back to Europe to play for Germany at the European Championships in France in September of 2001.
FR?HLICH EARNS PRESEASON HONORS: Honors are nothing new to junior standout Linda Fr?hlich, but the 6-2 forward from Oldendorf, Germany, has a couple more honors for her trophy case. She was chosen as a preseason All-American by Street & Smith's magazine after earning honorable mention All-America honors last season by both the WBCA and the Associated Press. She was also selected as the preseason Mountain West Conference Player of the Year by the league's coaches at its annual media day for the second straight year.
MILLER HONORED IN THE OFF SEASON: Head coach Regina Miller collected some honors of her own this summer. In addition to a contract extension that will keep her on the Lady Rebels' bench through at least the 2002-03 season, Miller was chosen as a court coach at the 2000 USA Basketball Women's Summer Development Camp, which is the trials for the Jones Cup team. She spent a week in Colorado Springs, Colo., working with many of the nation's elite players who were trying out for the national team.
