Feb. 10, 2006

LAS VEGAS -

UNLV-BYU game notes
Download Free Acrobat Reader

The UNLV women's basketball team returns to action on Saturday night, as they host 18th-ranked BYU at 7 pm in the Cox Pavilion.

It was an up and down week for the Lady Rebels last week, as they followed an impressive 61-50 home win over TCU with a disappointing loss at Wyoming, in which senior star forward Sherry McCracklin left the game with four minutes to play with a concussion. UNLV couldn't recover from her absence, dropping a 53-50 contest. They can make up for that loss however with a win Saturday over BYU to keep them ahead of Wyoming in the league standings. The Cougars though come in with their strongest team in years, as they are currently first in the MWC with a 9-1 mark and are ranked 18th in the nation. BYU is also a perfect 10-0 on the road this season, while UNLV is 8-2 at home, 3-2 in the Cox Pavilion.

The key to the game will come down to how UNLV can make up for the absence of McCracklin in the post, as she will not play in Saturday's game and it is undetermined when she will return to the court. Prior to the injury, McCracklin had been on a tear, averaging 15 points and 12 rebounds over the last three games, and was named MWC Player of the Week this past Monday.

Formerly the MWC's top offense, UNLV now is at the top of the league in several defensive categories. The Lady Rebels are currently leading the conference in blocks (4.40 bpg) and rebound margin (+5.6), are second in steals (10.00 spg) and third in field goal defense (37.9%).

With their win over TCU on Feb. 2, the Lady Rebels are just two wins away from their 600th win in program history, a mark only 34 schools have reached in NCAA history.