Feb. 3, 1998
Lady Rebel Basketball This Week:
Wed., Feb. 4 AIR FORCE ACADEMY vs. UNLV (Radio-Live) 7:05 p.m. PST
Game held at Lied Gymnasium (1,500), Las Vegas, Nev.
Sat., Feb. 7 UNLV at NO. 18 HAWAI'I* (Radio-Live) 7:00 p.m. HST
Game held at Special Events Arena (10,225), Honolulu, Hawai'i
Both games will be broadcast live on KSFN-1140 AM by Bob Blum
* The Hawai'i game is considered a crossover game and will not count in conference standings
The UNLV women's basketball team will remain at home for a WAC contest this week as it hosts the Air Force Academy on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 7:05 p.m. PST at Lied Gymnasium (1,500). The Lady Rebels will then travel to Honolulu, Hawai'i to face the No. 18 Rainbow Wahine on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7:00 p.m. HST at Special Events Arena (10,225). The game vs. Hawai'i will not count in conference standings because it is considered a WAC crossover game. Both games may be heard on KSFN-1140 AM with Bob Blum calling the action.
The Lady Rebels
The Lady Rebels (3-17, 2-7 WAC) lost at Colorado State (91-75) and then snapped a five-game losing streak as it defeated Wyoming (66-50) at home last weekend. UNLV, which is in seventh place in the WAC's Mountain Division, is led by senior guard Taneisha Gossett who leads the team in scoring with 12.1 ppg. Junior forward Angalete Dye leads the team and is second in the WAC in rebounding with 8.7 per game and is second on the team in scoring with 9.1 ppg. As a team UNLV is shooting 38 percent from the field, 30 percent from three-point range and 60 percent from the free throw line. The Lady Rebels return seven players from last year's squad that recorded an overall record of 4-23, finishing seventh in the WAC's Pacific Division at 2-14. UNLV is participating in the Mountain Division this season because of the WAC's rotating quadrants. Head Coach LaDonna McClain, who was in her second season at UNLV stepped down on Monday, Feb. 2 and departs with an overall record of 7-40. Along with McClain, assistant coaches Sheryl Krmpotich and Marcus Payne resigned. Director of Basketball Operatons Steve Corraro, who is in his fifth season with the program, was named interim head coach and will run the program for the remainder of the season. He will be assisted by Carrie Daniels, who is in her second season with the program.
The Opponents
Air Force Academy (5-14, 0-9 WAC) has lost nine straight games including two at home last week. Air Force lost to Wyoming (82-54) and Colorado State (97-46) in its most recent contests. Air Force is in eighth place in the WAC's Mountain Division and is led by junior guard/forward Elycia Hall who is the only player on the team averaging in double-figures in scoring with 14.3 ppg. Sophomore forward Mollie Peters leads the team in rebounding with 5.9 per game. As a team, the Falcons are shooting 35 percent from the field, 27 percent from three-point range and 67 percent from the free throw line. Air Force finished the 1996-97 season with an overall record of 4-22 and was eighth in the WAC's Pacific Division at 1-15. Head Coach Marti Gasser in her 15th year at Air Force and 19th overall.
No. 18 Hawai'i (18-1, 9-0 WAC) defeated Fresno State (78-66) and San Jose State (80-69) in two road WAC games last week. Hawai'i is in first place in the WAC's Pacific Division and is led by senior forward Nani Cocket, who leads the team and is fourth in the WAC in scoring with 19.8 ppg. Senior Brandi Ashby leads the team and is seventh in the WAC in rebounding with 8.1 per game. As a team, the Rainbow Wahine are shooting 49 percent from the field, 39 percent from three-point range and 76 percent from the free throw line which is tops in the WAC in all categories. Hawai'i finished the 1996-97 season with an overall record of 21-8 and was tied for second in the WAC's Pacific Division at 12-4. Head Coach Vince Goo is in his 11th year.
Series History
UNLV leads the series with Air Force 2-1. The Lady Rebels won the last meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., 88-74, on Jan. 10 of this year. UNLV leads the series with Hawai'i 30-10. Hawai'i has won the last five meetings. UH defeated UNLV 72-46 in their last meeting, last season in Las Vegas.
Possible Lady Rebel Starters
No. Player Pos. Ht. Yr.-Exp.Hometown/Last School 1997-98 Statistics
11 Kristen Pool G 5-6 Jr.-JC Provo, Utah/Utah Valley State Coll. 7.7 ppg, 2.4 apg
15 Liz Wolfe C 6-3 Jr.-2L Coquitlam, B.C./Centennial SS 6.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg
21 Angalete Dye F 6-1 Jr.-2L Vacaville, Calif./Will C. Wood HS 9.1 ppg, 8.7 rpg
24 Toby Girard G 5-5 Sr.-1L Tempe, Ariz./Yavapai College 7.4 ppg, 3.3 apg
33 Taneisha Gossett G 5-9 Sr.-1L Phoenix, Ariz./Central Arizona Coll. 12.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Lady Rebels Off The Bench
No. Player Pos Ht. Yr.-Exp. Hometown/Last School 1997-98 Statistics
00 Amy Wunderlich F 6-0 Jr.-2L Norco, Calif./Norco HS 6.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg
20 Karen Webster G 5-8 Jr.-2L Bellevue, Wash./Sammamish HS 4.2 ppg, 2.0 apg
30 Kedonica Qualls G 5-6 Jr.-JC Jonesboro, La./Kilgore (Texas) JC 2.4 ppg, 0.9 rpg
31 Brooke Ingalls F 6-0 Fr.-HS Redmond, Wash./Eastlake HS 2.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg
40 Tekeira Strambler F 5-11 Sr.-1L Midland, Texas/Central Arizona Coll.1.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg
54 Eishia Brightwell F 6-1 Jr.-JC Lawrenceburg, Ind./Vincennes Univ. 4.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg
McClain Resigns As UNLV's Women's Basketball Head Coach
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (2/2/98) - The UNLV athletics department announced the resignation of UNLV women's basketball Head Coach LaDonna McClain Monday along with assistant coaches Sheryl Krmpotich and Marcus Payne. McClain's resignation will be effective immediately and Director of Women's Basketball Operations Steve Corraro will assume the head coaching duties on an interim basis for the remainder of the season. Assistant Coach Carrie Daniels will help Corraro run the program for its final seven games, which will be played over a 22-day span. "I'm very disappointed it didn't work out at UNLV," McClain said. "I think my resignation is best for the team, the school and for myself. Hopefully I learned some very important lessons, but this is not what I envisioned my career here to be like." McClain, who began coaching at UNLV at the start of the 1996-97 season, compiled an overall record of 7-40 and was 4-21 in conference games. "I'm disappointed to see that Coach McClain's career here was not as successful as we had hoped," said UNLV Director of Athletics Charles Cavagnaro. "It was not a case of lack of effort on her part or her staff, but it came down to a situation that was not working. It does give us a jump start in locating a new coach because of the timing involved. We will conduct an exhaustive national search to find the best possible replacement. We are not giving up on this season, however. These young women have a chance to compete in the conference tournament and we are going to give them every opportunity we can to help them achieve that goal."
Atop the NCAA
Junior forward Angalete Dye has recorded the fourth-best rebounding performance for any individual in the nation this season. Dye pulled down 23 rebounds vs. Long Beach State on Nov. 23. Since then three players have recorded 24 rebounds. Dye was tied for 16th in the nation in rebounding as of Dec. 15. She had averaged 10.3 rebounds per game through seven games. She is no longer among the NCAA leaders in rebounding.
Leaders of the WAC
Junior forward Angalete Dye is second in the WAC in rebounding. Dye is averaging 8.7 rebounds per game. She is also tied for sixth in the WAC in blocks with 1.1 per game. Senior guard Toby Girard is tied for 17th in the WAC in assists with 3.3 per game. Senior guard Taneisha Gossett is tied for 19th in steals with 1.9 per game. As a team the Lady Rebels are fifth in the WAC in rebounding, pulling down 39.8 per game. UNLV is also seventh in blocks with 2.3 and seventh in steals with 10.3 per game.
Lady Rebels in the Mack
UNLV will host its final home game of the 1997-98 season at the Thomas & Mack Center vs. Hawai'i on Feb. 26. The Lady Rebels have hosted three games in the building so far this season. UNLV lost to Northern Arizona (91-72) on Dec. 17, lost to then-No. 3 Connecticut (80-47) on Dec. 27 and defeated Loyola Marymount (86-60) on Dec. 30. UNLV has hosted 89 regular season games at the T&M over 15 years and has a mark of 69-20 in those games. Lady Rebels in the Mack Cont. ----------------------------------------------------------
UNLV hosted two games in the building during the 1996-97 season, losing to UCSB (101-77) on Dec. 30 and defeating the Air Force Academy (85-62) on Feb. 20.
Lady Rebel Honors
Senior guard Taneisha Gossett was selected to the Las Vegas Club Shootout All-Tournament Team. Gossett recorded two double-doubles in the tournament, which was held Dec. 5-6. She had 13 points and 12 rebounds vs. Youngstown State and 16 points and 13 rebounds vs. Middle Tennessee State.
Top-Ranked Schedule y Rebels lost to Louisiana Tech (4th-USA Today/ESPN, 4th-AP) on Nov. 28 and lost to Connecticut (2nd-USA Today/ESPN, 2nd-AP) on Dec. 27. UNLV faced Utah on Jan. 24 and will battle the Utes again in Las Vegas on Feb. 19. The Utes are now ranked 14th in the USA Today/ESPN poll and 17th in the AP. The Lady Rebels are also slated to battle Hawai'i. The Rainbow Wahine are ranked 18th in the USA Today/ESPN poll and 20th in the AP. Other opponents on UNLV's schedule that are receiving votes are Colorado State and New Mexico.
Last Week
Las Vegas, Nev. (1/29/98) - Junior guard Becky Hammon scored 26 points and junior forward Katie Cronin added 24 and grabbed 16 rebounds as Colorado State defeated the UNLV Lady Rebels 91-75 in a Western Athletic Conference game, Thursday night at Lied Gymnasium. Leading by only one point with 2:30 left in the first half, Colorado State scored 11 unanswered points heading into halftime to lead 48-36. UNLV scored the first six points of the second half to cut the score to 48-42 with 18:07 to play, but the Rams were too tough and led by as many as 23 en route to the victory. UNLV (2-17, 1-7) was led by junior forward Angie Dye's season-high of 28 points. Dye also grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds. Junior guard Kristen Pool scored in double figures as well for the Lady Rebels with 16 points on 3-of-7 from three-point range. Colorado State (16-3, 6-2) was assisted in the win by freshman forward Farah McDill's 11 rebounds and freshman forward Heather Haanen's 10 points.
Las Vegas, Nev. (1/31/98) - Senior guard Toby Girard led all scorers with 18 points and senior guard Taneisha Gossett added 16 as the Lady Rebels broke a five-game losing streak by defeating Wyoming 66-50 in a Western Athletic Conference game, Saturday night at Lied Gymnasium. With the score tied at 20-20 with 7:00 left in the first half, UNLV went on an 8-0 run over 2:39 and extended its lead by halftime to 36-24. Wyoming trailed the Lady Rebels 55-45 with 8:50 left to play in the game, but could get no closer as UNLV pulled away to record the 16-point victory. UNLV (3-17, 2-7), which broke a four-game losing streak to Wyoming, was also assisted by junior center Liz Wolfe's double-double of 12 rebounds and 10 points. Wyoming (7-12, 3-6), which was out-shot for the game 50 percent to 32 percent, was led by senior guard Courtney Stapp's team-high 17 points. Junior center Rebecca Tomlin added 14 points and freshman forward Lisa Glasser led the team with 10 rebounds.
Next Week
UNLV will continue on the road to battle UTEP in El Paso on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 6:00 p.m. MST. The Lady Rebels will then face New Mexico in Albuquerque on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 11:00 a.m. MST. The New Mexico game will be televised live on Fox Sports Southwest.
The Last Time
The Lady Rebels snapped their five-game losing streak with the victory over Wyoming (66-50). It marked the first win over the Cowgirls in the last five tries. UNLV broke its 26-game road losing streak by defeating Air Force (88-74) on Jan. 10. Since then the Lady Rebels have lost two straight on the road. UNLV's last road win before Air Force was at Long Beach State (64-63) during the 1995-96 season. The Lady Rebels are 1-0 vs. Air Force in Las Vegas. UNLV won the only meeting 85-62 in Las Vegas, which was held last season at the Thomas & Mack Center. UNLV is 10-8 vs. Hawai'i in Honolulu. Hawai'i won the last meeting in Honolulu 77-59, which was held last season. The last time UNLV won in Hawai'i was during the 1992-93 season.
The Last Time vs. Air Force
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (1/10/98) - Junior guard Kristen Pool had a career-high 17 points and senior guard Toby Girard had a career-high 12 assists as the UNLV Lady Rebels defeated the Air Force Academy, 88-74, in a Western Athletic Conference game, Saturday afternoon, at Clune Arena. With the score tied at 30-30 and 4:17 left in the first half, UNLV went on a 12-3 run to enter the locker room with a 42-33 lead. Pool and senior guard Taneisha Gossett each connected on three three-pointers in the first half as the team shot 86 percent (6/7) from beyond the arc. The Lady Rebels also made 52 percent of their shots from the field, while making 10 of 14 free throws. UNLV scored the first four points of the second half, taking a 13-point lead. Air Force fought back into it with eight points in just under a minute, including two three-pointers by junior guard Julia Karlstad to put the Falcons behind 46-41 with 16:40 to play. The Lady Rebels used a 15-0 run over 3:28 to take a decisive 71-45 advantage with 8:25 left and held on for the win. UNLV led by as many as 26 points. The Lady Rebels (2-12, 1-2), who snapped their 26-game road-losing streak with the victory, shot season-highs of 56 percent from the field and 86 percent from three-point range. UNLV ended up shooting 58 percent from the free throw line. Junior forward Amy Wunderlich also added 17 points for UNLV, while Gossett (16), junior center Liz Wolfe (15) and Girard (12) all scored in double-figures. Wolfe led the team in rebounding with 10. Air Force (5-8, 0-3) shot 35 percent for the game and was led by Karlstad's 25 points. Junior guard Elycia Hall added 21 points for the Falcons.
Last Year
The Lady Rebels struggled last year in LaDonna McClain's first season in Las Vegas. UNLV recorded a record of 4-23 overall and 2-14 in WAC play. The Lady Rebels finished seventh in the Pacific Division, failing to qualify for the WAC Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.
New Faces
The Lady Rebels have six new additions to the program, four coming from junior college programs and two out of high school. Eishia Brightwell, a 6-1 junior from Lawrenceburg, Ind., comes to UNLV from Vincennes University where she averaged 14.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 2.1 bpg. Rashmi Houston, a 5-9 junior guard from Pulaski, Tenn., played at Northwest Shoals Community College in Ala., where she averaged 14 ppg, 6 rpg and 4 apg last year. She injured her right ACL during practice prior to this season's opening game. She will have surgery and use this season as a redshirt year. Kristen Pool, a 5-6 point guard from Provo, Utah, attended Utah Valley State College averaging 6.0 ppg, 5.8 apg and 2.1 spg as the team won the conference championship with a 25-7 mark last year. Kedonica Qualls, the final junior-college transfer, is a 5-6 junior guard from Jonesboro, La. She went to Kilgore Junior College in Texas where she averaged 7 ppg, 5 apg and 3 spg last season. Brooke Ingalls is a freshman forward from Redmond, Wash. She attended Eastlake High School, averaging 13 ppg, 9 rpg and 5 apg her senior season. Tina Garcia is a freshman guard from Huntington Beach, Calif., who attended Mater Dei High School. She had reconstructive knee surgery during the summer and is finishing up her rehabilitation. Garcia will use this season as a redshirt year.
LaDonna McClain Leaves UNLV With 7-40 Mark
Head Coach LaDonna McClain (Missouri Southern, '87) who came to UNLV from Austin Peay State University to start the 1996-97 season resigned on Monday, Feb. 2 and recorded a 7-40 mark at UNLV. She left with a career record of 67-143 in her eighth season. Her 1997-98 record was 3-17 when she stepped down. Assistant coaches Sheryl Krmpotich (Xavier, '92) and Marcus Payne (Southwestern, '87), who came with McClain to Las Vegas, stepped down as well.
Corraro Takes Over
Director of Basketball Operations Steve Corraro who is in his fifth year with the program will assume the head coaching duties for the remainder of the season. Assisting Corraro will be Carrie Daniels (Austin Peay, '96) who is in her second season as Lady Rebel assistant coach. Daniels came to UNLV with McClain from Austin Peay State University where she was a guard.
UNLV Ticket Prices
Admission for UNLV women's basketball games is $4.00 for adults, $2.00 for students and $2.00 for UNLV faculty and staff. UNLV students are admitted free with valid I.D. For more information please call 895-3900.
UNLV on TV
UNLV's game at Long Beach State was shown on Fox Sports West 2 on a taped-delayed basis. The Lady Rebels will again be featured on the tube as part of the WAC's television game of the week when they play at New Mexico on February 15. It will be shown live on Fox Sports Southwest at 11:00 a.m. MST.
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
Games through Feb. 1
Rank Team Record Pts Prv
1. Tennessee (38) 23-0 950 1
2. Connecticut 21-1 912 2
3. Old Dominion 18-1 874 3
4. Louisiana Tech 16-3 828 4
5. North Carolina 17-4 766 6
6. Stanford 12-5 729 9
7. Texas Tech 14-4 715 5
8. Arizona 14-4 654 10
9. No Carolina St 18-3 610 12
10. Florida 16-5 586 14
11. Vanderbilt 15-4 561 6
12. Illinois 15-6 554 8
13. Virginia 15-5 383 16
14. Duke 14-6 371 13
15. Florida Intl 18-1 356 19
16. Wisconsin 17-5 341 20
17. Utah 16-2 322 11
18. Western Ky 17-6 254 15
19. Stephen Austin 17-2 247 22
20. Hawai'i 18-1 236 23
21. Washington 13-5 171 18
22. Clemson 16-5 157 21
23. SW Missouri St 15-3 126 25
24. Georgia 13-7 123 17
25. Nebraska 16-6 69 --
Others Receiving Votes: Purdue 64, Drake 57, Iowa St 54,
Memphis 53, Arkansas 52, Marquette 48, Alabama 25,
Auburn 21, UCLA 19, Oregon 17, Colorado St 14, Penn St 7,
New Mexico 6, Kansas 4, Liberty 4, Notre Dame 4, Maine 3,
American 2, Iowa 1.
USA TODAY/ESPN TOP 25
Games through Feb. 2
Rank Team Record Pts Prv
1. Tennessee (60) 23-0 1,500 1
2. Connecticut 21-1 1,440 2
3. Old Dominion 18-1 1,377 3
4. Louisiana Tech 16-3 1,308 4
5. North Carolina 17-4 1,214 7
6. North Carolina St. 18-3 1,116 9
7. Texas Tech 14-4 1,095 5
8. Stanford 12-5 1,031 12
9. Arizona 14-4 981 11
10. Vanderbilt 15-4 966 6
11. Illinois 15-6 890 8
12. Florida 16-5 853 14
13. Virginia 15-5 692 13
14. Utah 16-2 589 9
15. Wisconsin 17-6 550 18
16. Duke 14-6 516 15
17. Florida Internat'l 18-1 453 20
18. Hawai'i 18-1 449 21
19. Western Kentucky 17-6 374 16
20. Washington 13-5 275 19
21. Clemson 16-5 272 22
22. Nebraska 16-6 270 23
23. Stephen F. Austin 17-2 230 25
24. Georgia 13-7 207 17
25. SW Missouri St. 15-3 192 24
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Purdue 85, Alabama 67, Marquette 57,
Drake 56, Colorado State 49, Iowa State 47, Memphis 40,
Tulane 34, New Mexico 33, Arkansas 27, Iowa 22, Notre Dame 18,
UCLA 18, Florida State 17, SMU 15, Cincinnati 12, American 10,
Liberty 10, UC-Santa Barbara 8, Santa Clara 8, Indiana 5,
Maryland 5, Arkansas State 4, Oregon 4, Maine 2,
Northeast Louisiana 2, George Washington 1, Kansas 1,
Louisville 1, Texas-Arlington 1, Youngstown State 1.
UNLV'S RECORD WHEN IT:
Plays on Monday.. 0-0 Plays on Tuesday.. 1-0 Plays on Wednesday.. 0-1 Plays on Thursday.. 0-4 Plays on Friday.. 0-3 Plays on Saturday.. 2-7 Plays on Sunday.. 0-2 Plays during the afternoon.. 1-7 Plays at night.. 2-10 leads at halftime.. 3-6 is behind at halftime.. 0-10 is tied at halftime.. 0-1 shoots a higher FG% than opp.. 3-3 shoots a lower FG% than opp.. 0-14 shoots an equal FG% as opp.. 0-0 shoots a higher 3pt% than opp.. 3-5 shoots a lower 3pt% than opp.. 0-11 shoots an equal 3pt% as opp.. 0-1 shoots a higher FT% than opp.. 0-4 shoots a lower FT% than opp.. 3-13 shoots an equal FT% as opp.. 0-0 has more rebounds than opp.. 2-4 has less rebs than opp.. 0-12 has equal rebs as opp.. 1-1 has more assists than opp.. 3-3 has less assists than opp.. 0-13 has equal assists as opp.. 0-1 has more turnovers than opp.. 0-15 has less turnovers than opp.. 2-1 has equal turnovers as opp.. 1-1 has more fouls than opp.. 2-15 has less fouls than opp.. 0-1 has equal fouls as opp.. 1-1 has more blocks than opp.. 1-8 has less blocks than opp.. 0-7 has equal blocks as opp.. 3-2 has more steals than opp.. 3-8 has less steals than opp.. 0-9 has equal steals as opp.. 0-0
LADY REBELS ON KSFN
The dean of West Coast broadcasters, Bob Blum returns for his tenth season broadcasting Lady Rebel basketball. This season, Blum will broadcast all 27 regular-season games as well as any WAC Tournament or other post-season contests on KSFN-1140 AM.
1998 WAC TOURNEY
For the second straight year, the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV will serve as the site of the WAC Women's and Men's Basketball Tournaments. The women's tournament will be held March 2-7 and will involve 12 of the 16 WAC teams. The top two teams from each division will receive a first-round bye, while the remaining eight teams will play first-round games on March 2. The women's quarterfinals will take place on March 4 with the same game times as the first round. The semifinals are slated for March 6 with the championship game scheduled for March 7.
