March 10, 2003
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THIS WEEK
Mountain West Conference Championship First Round
No. 4 UNLV vs. No. 5 BYU * Wednesday, March 12 at 2:30 p.m.
TOURNAMENT REMATCH
The UNLV women's basketball team (17-10, 8-6) received the No. 4 seed in the upcoming 2003 EAS Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Championship and will match up with No. 5 seed Brigham Young on Wednesday, March 12 at 2:30 p.m. UNLV holds a 3-3 record in MWC tournament play. All postseason games will be broadcast live on KSHP 1400 AM radio and via an Internet link on unlvrebels.com from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Bob Blum, the dean of West Coast broadcasters, will call play-by-play action alongside former Lady Rebel Cheryl Kosewicz and David Wall.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Brigham Young (17-10, 8-6): The Cougars are the defending Mountain West Conference tournament champions and own a 7-2 record in MWC tournament play, including an undefeated 2-0 mark versus the Lady Rebels. BYU closed out the regular season with a 63-44 loss at New Mexico on March 8. Senior Erin Thorn, a first team all-conference selection, leads the team in scoring averaging 18.4 ppg.
SERIES HISTORY
BYU leads the all-time series versus UNLV (14-6). The Cougars have won the last seven out of eight meetings between both schools. UNLV and BYU split the MWC regular season series taking victories at home. The Lady Rebels won at Cox Pavilion (73-69) on Jan. 25, while the Cougars won at the Marriott Center (63-51) on Feb. 20. In last year's MWC championship game, the Cougars defeated the Lady Rebels, 61-46, to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
LAST TIME OUT vs. BYU
Last month, the Cougars kept their undefeated home streak intact versus the Lady Rebels. UNLV has never beaten the Cougars at the Marriott Center in MWC play. Erin Thorn scored a game-high 19 points as BYU went on to score eight three-pointers in the game. UNLV's Constance Jinks, a first team all-conference selection, was the only Lady Rebel to score in double-digits with 13 points.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Lady Rebels are now 19-3 all-time in the Cox Pavilion, which opened for the 2001-02 season. UNLV has compiled a 124-39 overall record (.761) at home in the TMC and Cox combined, which ranks among the top 10 Division I schools all-time in home court winning percentage.
LADY REBELS AND THE RPI
In the latest WBCA/Summerville RPI index, the Lady Rebels are rated 92 and BYU, 57. Possible Opponents: Utah (22) and Colorado State (48).
