Jan. 9, 2006

LAS VEGAS -

UNLV-BYU game notes
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The UNLV women's basketball team (9-3, 1-0) is ready to play its first conference road game of the season and just second MWC game of the year, and it's already a key game for the conference standings as after Wednesday night's game the number of undefeated teams in the league will be cut down to just two. The game will tipoff in Provo, Utah with a 6 pm (MST) start.

New Mexico and BYU currently sit atop the MWC standings with 2-0 records, while UNLV is 1-0 after a home win over Wyoming last week. The Cougars are boasting a four-game win streak, with their lone loss of the year at home to NC State on Dec. 21 by two points, while UNLV has won three straight since a home loss to Texas A&M on Dec. 18.

The Lady Rebels played five of its first seven games of the year away from home, and went 3-2 with the two losses coming at top-15 DePaul and at Pac-10 member California. The schedule was set up to give the team experience in playing on the road, as they were just 2-8 on road games in 2004-05, including 1-6 in league action.

Though the Lady Rebels' scoring has dropped off this season, with a 67.0 ppg average through 11 games to rank fifth in the MWC after leading the league in scoring in 2003-04 and 2004-05, UNLV is at the top of the league in several defensive categories. The Lady Rebels are currently leading the conference in blocks (5.0 bpg), and second in both steals (10.9 spg) and rebound margin at +8.6.

With their win over Wyoming, the Lady Rebels are now just six wins away from their 600th win in program history, a mark only 34 schools have reached in NCAA history.