Feb. 24, 2006

LAS VEGAS -

UNLV-Air Force notes
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The UNLV women's basketball team returns to action on Saturday night against Air Force at 7 pm in the Cox Pavilion.

The Lady Rebels look to bounce back from a loss at 19th-ranked Utah, as they play the first of their final two home games of the regular season against the Falcons. Though the Lady Rebels are 9-3 at home this year, with all three losses coming to teams currently ranked in the AP top 25, UNLV is just 4-3 in the Cox Pavilion, as the other five wins have come in the Thomas & Mack Center, where #23 New Mexico will come visit for a Thursday night game.

UNLV stands in sixth place, and can move up to the fifth or fourth seeds in the tournament, but would most likely need to win its last three games to do so. In the Lady Rebels' favor is that two of the games are at home, while the season finale is at TCU, a team UNLV has already beaten this season, 61-50 back on Feb. 2 in Las Vegas. Saturday's game is just as important to Air Force, as at 3-11, the Falcons would like to get one more win to give them a two-game lead over Colorado State, and keep them out of the play-in game at the MWC Tournament.

With 19 points in the loss to Utah, senior guard Sheena Moore is now just 42 points away from becoming the ninth Lady Rebel to score 1,500 career points at UNLV. Moore is also just three assists away from 300, and only four playes in UNLV history have reached both career marks.

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 (4.29 bpg), and are second in both steals (10.13 spg) and rebound margin (+5.5).