Jan. 15, 2002
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THIS WEEK
at Wyoming * Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. (PST)
at No. 20/21 Colorado State * Jan. 19 at 1 p.m. (PST)
MAKING THE CLIMB
Rocky Mountain terrain is ahead for the UNLV women's basketball team (14-1 overall, 2-0 MWC) as the Lady Rebels travel to Wyoming on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. (PST) and No. 20/21 Colorado State on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 1 p.m. (PST) for a two-game conference road swing. Again, it will be a battle of the Mountain West Conference's top teams as first-place UNLV faces off against second-place CSU, a match that will be televised live on Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain at 2 p.m. (MST). Two wins this weekend could finally propel the Lady Rebels into the top 25, after receiving 52 votes in this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll (27th) an d 43 votes in the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 poll (28th). Both games to be broadcast locally on KENO 1460 AM radio and via an Internet link on unlvrebels.com.
THE OBSTACLES
Wyoming (7-7): The Cowgirls opened their Mountain West Conference season with a pair of road losses to Utah (80-59) and BYU (81-65) last week, to drop to 0-2 in the league standings. Four players are averaging double figures in scoring with junior forward Darci Arsene leading the way with 13.6 ppg and 7.5 rpg and junior forward Carrie Bacon right behind averaging 13.4 ppg and 5.7 rpg. Wyoming is a 75 percent free throw shooting team making 240-of-318 of its last attempts. Their seven wins of the season have come against Florida Atlantic, Nevada, Reno, UT-Pan American, Northern Arizona, Western New Mexico and Idaho State. The Cowgirls return five starters and eight letterwinners who will defend to keep their 5-0 undefeated record at home intact.
Colorado State (13-3): The defending Mountain West Conference champions, who have been ranked in the top 25 polls all season long, remain the team to beat in the MWC race. Coming off a 25-7 overall record and NCAA Second Round appearance last year, the No. 20/21 nationally ranked Rams are a perfect 2-0 in league play after an 81-64 win at BYU and triple overtime victory at Utah (87-77) last week. Prior to the conference opener, CSU would suffer a great loss when junior Elizabeth English tore her ACL against Xavier on Dec. 14, which took the third-best scorer (13.0 ppg) on the team out for the remainder of the season. However, the Rams have recovered, opening conference play with a two-game sweep and moving up three spots in the national polls. Junior Ashley Augspurger is the team's leading scorer averaging 14.5 ppg and 6.2 rpg.
SERIES HISTORY vs. LEAGUE OPPONENTS
In the all-time series with both Mountain West rivals, UNLV leads Wyoming 8-4, while Colorado State holds a 10-2 advantage. Since 1998, the Lady Rebels have kept a seven-game win streak going versus the Cowgirls. During Miller's reign in the last three seasons in the conference, the Lady Rebels have swept each year's series versus Wyoming. Colorado State, however, swept the series versus UNLV during the 2000-01 season. The Lady Rebels last defeated the Rams, 84-69, on their home court (Moby Arena) on March 2, 2000. Senior Kinesha Davis, then a sophomore, scored a game-high 23 points going 9-of-15 from the field and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe, pounding a 3-pointer for the 15-point victory over CSU.
UNLV COACH REGINA MILLER
Regina Miller enters her fourth season as head coach. In the Miller Era, the Lady Rebels have posted three consecutive winning seasons, with last year's team making their first postseason tournament appearance since 1994. Miller has compiled a current 67-34 (.663) career winning record at UNLV, the best coaching record in the last decade of the program and fourth best record among all UNLV coaches. With the success she has established in a short period of time in Las Vegas, Miller is looking to keep the program heading in an upward direction in 2001/02.
FR?HLICH REACHING MORE MILESTONES
Senior All-American candidate Linda Fr?hlich is on the verge of becoming the first Lady Rebel in school history to reach 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Fr?hlich has already reached the 2,000 plateau (2,090 points to-date) and needs six more boards (994 rebounds to-date) to reach 1,000 rebounds. Fr?hlich needs to grab 101 more boards to surpass two-time All-American Pauline Jordan's (1987-90) all-time school record of 1,094 career rebounds.
LADY REBEL CAREER REBOUNDING LEADERS Games Reb. Avg.1. Pauline Jordan (1987-90) 98 1,094 11.22. Linda Fr?hlich (1998-Present) 97 994 10.23. Angela Christian (1983-87) 123 926 7.54. Kathie Calloway (1978-82) 120 922 7.75. Geannine Jordan (1986-90) 126 827 6.66. Misty Thomas (1982-86) 114 790 6.97. Angalete Dye (1995-99) 103 730 7.18. Teresa Jackson (1989-93) 120 695 5.89. Merlelynn Lange (1988-92) 111 688 6.210. Janice Fuller (1975-77) 41 513 12.5
LAST TIME IN THE POLLS
The last time the Lady Rebels beat a nationally ranked opponent came in the 1993-94 season, also the same year in which the team last advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Under then UNLV coach Jim Bolla, UNLV defeated 21st-ranked Hawai'i, 74-70, on Jan. 5, 1994 and then again on March 12, 1994 in the championship game of the Big West Tournament. The Lady Rebels defeated 24th-ranked Hawai'i, 78-60, earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. UNLV has not been ranked among the top 25 since Jan. 18, 1994, when the Lady Rebels were ranked 25th in the nation with a 10-2 record.
BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT
It only seems appropriate with an All-American candidate and current 14-1 record that the Lady Rebels would return to the national spotlight. Receiving votes throughout the year in both the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 and Associate Press Top 25 polls, the UNLV women's basketball team and leading scorer Linda Fr?hlich made their national debut on ESPN2 against New Mexico at the Pit in Albuquerque on Jan. 6. The Lady Rebels' last appearance on national television dated back to a Jan. 27, 1993 home game featured on ESPN versus Big West Conference rival Long Beach State at the South Gym on campus.
LONG STRETCHES
The Lady Rebels' current 10-game winning streak is the longest consecutive stretch since the 1992-93 season, when UNLV went on an 18-game win streak under former UNLV coach Jim Bolla. The school record for most consecutive wins is 22 set back in the 1978-79 and 1989-90 seasons.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Lady Rebels have posted a 7-0 record at the Cox Pavilion, their new home arena in 2001/02. Last season, UNLV tabulated a 12-4 record at home in the Thomas & Mack Center. The Lady Rebels completed a five-game holiday homestand which first began on Dec.19, 2001 versus Eastern Washington and ended on Jan. 4, 2002 against Northern Arizona. They are currently 9-0 at home (Cox Pavilion and TMC). UNLV's conference match versus San Diego State on Jan. 12 drew its largest home crowd of the 2001/02 season at 2,379 fans, also the largest number to watch a Lady Rebels game since a 1989-90 battle with Long Beach State that drew 2,500 fans.
2001-02 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE STANDINGS
MWC PCT% All Games PCT%
1. UNLV 2-0 1.000 14-1 .933 2. Colorado State 2-0 1.000 13-3 .812 3. New Mexico 1-1 .500 12-4 .750 4. BYU 1-1 .500 10-5 .667 5. Utah 1-1 .500 8-6 .571 6. San Diego State 0-1 .000 8-6 .571 7. Air Force 0-1 .000 4-10 .286 8. Wyoming 0-2 .000 7-7 .500
SEEING DOUBLE
Senior forward Linda Fr?hlich has collected 10 double-doubles in 15 games played so far this season. Since her arrival to UNLV in 1998, Fr?hlich has turned in a career 49 double-doubles to-date and also two triple-doubles. Her last triple-double came against Colorado State during the end of her rookie campaign in 1998-99, also the same year she was named National Freshman of the Year. Fr?hlich scored 14 points, 10 rebounds and turned in a career-high 12 assists versus the Rams.
* Linda Fr?hlich vs. Cal State Fullerton (11/16/01), 15 points and 14 rebounds
* Linda Fr?hlich at UC Irvine (11/19/01), 20 points and 13 rebounds (8 assists)
* Linda Fr?hlich vs. Tennessee Tech (11/25/01), 28 points and 13 rebounds
* Linda Fr?hlich vs. #13 Georgia (12/01/01), 27 points and 10 rebounds
* Linda Fr?hlich vs. Nevada, Reno (12/09/01), 22 points and 16 rebounds
* Linda Fr?hlich vs. Eastern Washington (12/19/01), 18 points and 14 rebounds
* Linda Fr?hlich vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1/2/02), 27 points and 10 rebounds
* Linda Fr?hlich vs. Northern Arizona (1/4/02), 24 points and 13 rebounds (5 assists)
* Linda Fr?hlich at New Mexico (1/6//02), 20 points and 14 rebounds
* Linda Fr?hlich vs. San Diego State (1/12/02), 22 points and 14 rebounds (3 blocks)
OUT IN FRONT
The Lady Rebels still remain ranked second in the nation in scoring margin (22.4) behind top-ranked Connecticut (38.7) and sixth in scoring defense (56.0). They also rank 17th nationally in average margin of victory (25.1) and 19th in scoring offense (78.4). UNLV is 58th in the latest WBCA/Summerville RPI ratings with its impressive 14-1 overall record.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE LEADERS
SCORING: Linda Fr?hlich, 15 games, 329 points, 21.9 ppg
REBOUNDING: Linda Fr?hlich, 15 games, 171 rebounds 11.4 rpg
FT PCT%: Linda Fr?hlich, 15 games, 69-of-80, .863
DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS: Linda Fr?hlich, 15 games, 129 rebounds, 8.6 avg
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE INDIVIDUAL HIGHS
POINTS: Constance Jinks 33 vs. UC Santa Barbara
FG MADE: Constance Jinks 13 vs. UC Santa Barbara
FG ATTEMPTS: Constance Jinks 23 vs. UC Santa Barbara
3PT PCT%: Erin Johansson 1.000 (7-7) at Nevada
FT MADE: Linda Fr?hlich 14 vs. Northern Arizona
STEALS: Julia Gray 9 vs. Northern Arizona
