Oct. 11, 2001

LAS VEGAS - Just two days away from the first official day of the college basketball season, Street and Smith's College Basketball, America's college bible for previews and predictions, selected the UNLV women's basketball team to its preseason top 25 list.

The Lady Rebels, ranked No. 22 in the poll, are coming off a successful 2000-01 season, after posting a 19-10 overall mark and advancing to the postseason WNIT last year. They were the only team to represent the Mountain West Conference in the poll and also picked over defending national champion Notre Dame, chosen 23rd.

Senior forward and WBCA/Kodak All-American candidate Linda Fr?hlich was selected alongside Duke's Alana Beard, Connecticut's Sue Bird, Baylor's Danielle Cockrom, Oklahoma's Stacey Dales, Connecticut's Diana Taurasi, North Carolina's Nikki Teasley, Mississippi State's LaToya Thomas, Louisiana Tech's Ayana Walker and Iowa State's Angie Welle to Street and Smith's All-America Team consisting of the nation's top women's players.

This is not the only preseason honor to be bestowed on the Lady Rebels. Last month, the Women's Basketball Journal tabbed UNLV a preseason No. 20 team among perennial national powers Tennessee, Connecticut and Louisiana Tech, among others.

The Lady Rebels will play two teams noted on the Street and Smith preseason top 25 list this season. They will meet preseason No. 16 Georgia in the Oakland Tribune Classic on Dec. 1 in Berkeley, Calif., and No. 24 UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas.

2001-02 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOP 25
1. Connecticut
2. Tennessee
3. Texas Tech
4. Louisiana Tech
5. Vanderbilt
6. Oklahoma
7. Stanford
8. Duke
9. Colorado
10. N.C. State
11. Old Dominion
12. Iowa State
13. Purdue
14. Florida
15. George Washington
16. Georgia
17. TCU
18. Maryland
19. St. Mary's
20. Texas
21. Baylor
22. UNLV
23. Notre Dame
24. UC Santa Barbara
25. Michigan