March 6, 2002
Box Score
LAS VEGAS - No trace of a loss to Utah four days ago could be seen as the fourth-seeded UNLV women's basketball team steam rolled past the fifth-seeded Utes, 57-38, late Wednesday night in the first round of the EAS Mountain West Conference Tournament held at the Thomas & Mack Center.
After being destroyed by 13 Utah three-pointers on March 2 to end the regular season with a 69-65 loss, UNLV looked to step-up play in postseason competition and dominate the turnaround rematch with the Utes. The defensive effort was much improved with the Lady Rebels creating 17 steals, the second most in a game for the season, and causing Utah to turnover the ball 24 times.
Senior All-America candidate Linda Fr?hlich (Oldendorf, Germany) recorded her 13th double-double of the year scoring a game-high 17 points and 14 rebounds. At the 4:31 minute mark of the second half, Fr?hlich was fouled while grabbing her 13th board of the night to become the Lady Rebels' all-time leading rebounder with 1,096 career rebounds to-date. Fr?hlich, the league's three-time player of the year, broke a 12-year-old record of 1,094 career rebounds held by former three-time All-American Pauline Jordan (1987-90).
Senior Kinesha Davis (Brooklyn Center, Minn.) and junior Julia Gray (Riverside, Calif.) combined for 17 of the Lady Rebels 57 points of the game and were main contributors on defense. Gray turned in 10 points, six assists and five steals, while Davis racked up seven points, five rebounds and three steals in the 19-point demolition.
For the second time this season, freshman Sherry McCracklin (Hazel Crest, Ill.) led all scorers in the first half with seven points, which led her to a career-high tying 10 points.
The victory was also the first time UNLV had ever beaten Utah in the Thomas & Mack Center (postseason and regular season combined) in conference play, after a string of four consecutive losses in the home facility, which acts as a neutral site in tournament matches.
Utah, a team that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season, ends the year at 15-12 overall. Sophomore Carly Marshall led the Utes in scoring with 10 points, one a 3-point basket. Utah managed to complete only 3-of-11 three-point attempts in the nightcap.
Up next, UNLV (22-6) will match wits with top-seeded and No. 15/18 nationally ranked Colorado State (24-5) in semifinal action on Friday, March 8 at 2:30 p.m. Both teams split the regular season series and will vie for advancement into the championship finals on Saturday, March 9 to meet the winner of second-seeded New Mexico (22-6) and third-seeded BYU (20-8).
All UNLV conference tournament games will be broadcast locally on KENO 1460 AM radio and via an Internet link on unlvrebels.com. The semifinal game will also be aired by Sportswest.
