Jan. 9, 2002
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THIS WEEK
vs. San Diego State * Jan. 12 at 7:35 p.m.
MORE MOUNTAIN WEST ACTION
The UNLV women's basketball team (13-1 overall, 1-0 MWC) seeks to defend its top position in the current Mountain West Conference standings hosting fourth-place San Diego State on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 7:35 p.m in the Thomas & Mack Center. The Lady Rebels return to the TMC for the next two home games, including a Thursday, Jan. 24 conference match against Air Force also scheduled for a 7:35 p.m. tip-off. All games to be broadcast live on KENO 1460 AM radio and via an Internet link on unlvrebels.com. The SDSU game will be aired locally (tape delay) on Saturday, Jan. 19 from 2-4 p.m. on KTUD, UPN Channel 25 * Cable 14.
ROCKY ROAD TERRAIN AHEAD
An important two-game road trip through the Rocky Mountains is ahead for the Lady Rebels. UNLV will face Wyoming on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. (PST) in Laramie and 23rd-ranked Colorado State on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 1 p.m. (PST) in Fort Collins, Colo. It will only be the second time this season for the Lady Rebels to match up against a top 25 opponent. UNLV last played Georgia, previously ranked 13th in the nation, on Dec. 1 at the Oakland Tribune Classic. The Lady Bulldogs would hand the Lady Rebels their only loss of the season. Receiving 11 votes in this week's USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll and 27 votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, a four-game win streak in conference play could vault the Lady Rebels into both major polls.
EYEING THE COMPETITION
San Diego State (8-5): Opening their Mountain West Conference schedule this weekend as the start of three straight road games, the Aztecs come into Las Vegas looking to extend their current win streak to four games. SDSU began its longest win streak of the 2001-02 season after defeating Radford (89-42), Detroit (70-56) and Portland State (73-51) at home in the Cox Arena. SDSU is 14-11 all-time in conference openers and are guided by fifth-year head coach Barb Smith. They currently have three starters who are averaging double figures with senior Atim Otii (11.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg) senior Claire Swinbank (11.0 ppg) and junior Jamey Cox (10.2 ppg, 5.61 apg) giving the Aztecs a 1-2-3 scoring punch.
SERIES HISTORY
The Lady Rebels have won the last three meetings against the Aztecs, to level the all-time series at 11-11. Last season, UNLV won both games of the conference series taking a 41-point, 82-41 victory over SDSU in San Diego and a 68-67 buzzer beater at home in Las Vegas. With two seconds remaining in regulation, Constance Jinks hit an 18-foot jump shot from the top of the key to give the Lady Rebels the series sweep of the Aztecs.
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 66-34 (.660) 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.
BACK TO THE MACK
Three doubleheaders are on tap this season, in conjunction with UNLV men's basketball games in the Thomas & Mack Center. The Lady Rebels will take on UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 30, Brigham Young on Feb. 28 and Utah on March 2, as part of the return to the Mack. Both doubleheader games against BYU and Utah will have a tip-off at 5 p.m. UNLV will also play San Diego State (Jan. 12) and Air Force (Jan. 24) in the TMC, due to scheduling conflicts in the Cox Pavilion.
LONG STRETCHES
The Lady Rebels' current nine-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.
FR?HLICH REACHING MORE MILESTONES
Senior All-American candidate Linda Fr?hlich looks to become 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 (2,068 points to-date) and needs 20 more boards (980 rebounds to-date) to reach 1,000 rebounds. Fr?hlich needs to grab 115 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) 96 980 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
INVINCIBLE
Looking through the UNLV men's basketball records history, the all-time leading scorer is former Runnin' Rebel star Eddie Owens who played from 1973-77. In his four seasons at UNLV, Owens played in 118 games and racked up 2,221 career points. If Fr?hlich continues to average her current 21.9 ppg, she could very well become UNLV's (men's and women's) true all-time leading scorer.
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.
REACHING MAXIMUM CAPACITY
The Lady Rebels set a new school all-time attendance record at New Mexico on Jan. 6 at The Pit, broadcast nationally on ESPN2. A near capacity crowd of 17,215 watched UNLV thump UNM, 62-53, the Lobos' second loss of the season at home. The attendance for the Mountain West Conference opener also marked the second largest crowd for a Division I women's college basketball game this season. The annual battle between No.1 Connecticut and No. 2 Tennessee on Jan. 5 drew a sellout crowd of 24,611 in Knoxville, Tenn.
LADY REBEL ALL-TIME ATTENDED GAMES1. 17,215 at New Mexico on Jan. 6, 2002 (Albuquerque, N.M.)2. 11,199 at Colorado on March 18, 1989 in NCAA Second Round (Boulder, Colo.)3. 11,045 at New Mexico on Jan. 22, 2000 (Albuquerque, N.M.)4. 9,701 at Texas on March 23, 1989 in NCAA First Round (Austin, Texas)5. 7,992 at Montana on March 16, 1994 in NCAA First Round (Missoula, Mont.)6. 7,500 vs. Virginia Commonwealth on Nov. 30, 1996 (Hartford, Conn.)6. 7,500 vs. UMass on Dec. 1, 1996 (Hartford, Conn.)
MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
After turning in her ninth double-double of the season against league rival New Mexico on Jan. 6, UNLV senior All-American Linda Fr?hlich (Oldendorf, Germany) was named Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week.
Fr?hlich led the Lady Rebels to a 3-0 record last week, averaging a double-double with 23.7 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. She captured her 2,000th career point by totaling 27 points and 10 rebounds in an 82-64 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Jan. 2. In a 76-72 overtime win versus Northern Arizona, Fr?hlich finished the night with 24 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Keeping consistent, Fr?hlich collected 20 points and 14 boards as the Lady Rebels defeated New Mexico, 62-53, in a sellout conference opener aired on national television by ESPN2. She also drained 3-of-4 three-pointers versus the Lobos at The Pit, to give UNM only their second loss of the season at home.
The award is her second MWC weekly honor of the 2001-02 season and eighth overall of her career. Fr?hlich shot 42.6 percent from the field and averaged 4.0 assists, 3.7 steals and one block per game in the three victories. She currently leads the MWC in scoring (21.9 ppg) and rebounding (11.2 rpg).
UNLV Mountain West Conference Players of the Week
* Nov. 27 - Constance Jinks
* Dec. 10 - Linda Fr?hlich
* Dec. 31 - Constance Jinks
* Jan. 7 - Linda Fr?hlich
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 8-0 at home (Cox Pavilion and TMC).
OUT IN FRONT
The Lady Rebels are ranked second in the nation in scoring margin (23.1) behind top-ranked Connecticut (38.1) and ninth in scoring defense (56.1). UNLV is 60th in the latest WBCA/Summerville RPI ratings with its current 13-1 overall record.
