Games will be broadcast live on KSFN-1140 AM by Bob Blum
The UNLV women’s basketball team will be back in the Lied Gymnasium for the first time since Dec. 6 as it hosts its first WAC contests at home. UNLV will face the UTEP Miners on Thursday, Jan. 15, then battle the Lobos of New Mexico on Saturday, Jan. 17. Both games will be held at Lied Gymnasium (1,500) with tipoff scheduled at 7:05 p.m. The games will be will be broadcast live on KSFN-1140 AM with Bob Blum calling the action.
The Lady Rebels
The Lady Rebels (2-12, 1-2 WAC) recorded their first WAC victory of the season last week and broke a 26-game road losing streak as they defeated the Air Force Academy (88-74) on Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Lady Rebels are currently in sixth place in the WAC’s Mountain Division. Senior guard Taneisha Gossett leads the team in scoring with a per-game average of 11.0 points. Junior forward Angalete Dye leads the team and the WAC in rebounding with 9.6 per game and is second on the team in scoring with 9.1 ppg. 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 will participate in the Mountain Division this season because of the WAC’s rotating quadrants. Head Coach LaDonna McClain is in her second season at UNLV and eighth overall as a head coach.
The Opponents
UTEP (8-5, 3-1 WAC) beat both Wyoming (74-64) and Colorado State (69-62) at home last week. The Miners are currently tied for second place in the WAC’s Mountain Division. UTEP is led by senior forward Kiana Taylor who is averaging 16.1 ppg. Senior center Kanequa Chancellor leads the team and is second in the WAC in rebounding with 9.5 per game. She also is second on the team in scoring with 13.3 ppg. Junior center Kristi Lattin is also scoring in double figures with 10.4 ppg. UTEP finished the 1996-97 season with an overall record of 13-12 and was seventh in the WAC-Mountian at 5-11. Head Coach Sandra Rushing is in her eighth year.
New Mexico (12-4, 2-2 WAC) lost to Colorado State (66-63) and defeated Wyoming (72-45) at home last week. The Lobos are currently tied for fourth place in the WAC’s Mountain Division. UNM is led by senior guard Abby Garchek who leads the team and is fourth in the WAC in scoring at 20.1 ppg. Sophomore guard Sonya Bryant is second on the team in scoring at 11.1 ppg and freshman guard Jennifer Williams leads the team in rebounding with 6.6 per game and is third in scoring at 10.2 ppg. New Mexico finished the 1996-97 season with an overall record of 18-10 and was fourth in the WAC-Mountain at 8-8. Head Coach Don Flanagan is in his third year.
Series History
UNLV leads the series with UTEP 2-0. UNLV defeated the Miners 87-56 in their first meeting during the 1979-80 season and 68-38 in their last meeting during the 1987-88 season. Both meetings were held in Las Vegas. UNLV leads the series with New Mexico 9-2. The first meeting was during the 1974-75 season which UNLV won 71-64 and the last meeting was during the 1983-84 season with UNLV defeating the Lobos 79-39.
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. 7.9 ppg, 2.4 apg
15 Liz Wolfe C 6-3 Jr.-2L Coquitlam, B.C./Centennial SS 6.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg
21 Angalete Dye F 6-1 Jr.-2L Vacaville, Calif./Will C. Wood HS 9.1 ppg, 9.6 rpg
24 Toby Girard G 5-5 Sr.-1L Tempe, Ariz./Yavapai College 6.2 ppg, 2.9 apg
33 Taneisha Gossett G 5-9 Sr.-1L Phoenix, Ariz./Central Arizona Coll. 11.0 ppg, 5.2 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 9.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg
20 Karen Webster G 5-8 Jr.-2L Bellevue, Wash./Sammamish HS 5.3 ppg, 2.4 apg
30 Kedonica Qualls G 5-6 Jr.-JC Jonesboro, La./Kilgore (Texas) JC 1.6 ppg, 0.9 rpg
31 Brooke Ingalls F 6-0 Fr.-HS Redmond, Wash./Eastlake HS 2.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg
40 Tekeira Strambler F 5-11 Sr.-1L Midland, Texas/Central Arizona Coll. 1.4 ppg, 1.0 rpg
54 Eishia Brightwell F 6-1 Jr.-JC Lawrenceburg, Ind./Vincennes Univ. 3.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Atop the NCAA
Junior forward Angalete Dye was tied for 16th in the nation in rebounding as of Dec. 15. Dye had averaged 10.3 rebounds per game through seven games. She had also recorded the most rebounds of any player in the NCAA this season with 23 vs. Long Beach State on Nov. 23. Mercy Aghado of St. Peter’s was second with 22. The 23 rebounds also surpasses the WAC mark which was previously 21 set by three different players. Updated NCAA Statistics have not been released since Dec. 15.
Leaders of the WAC
Junior forward Angalete Dye leads the WAC in rebounding. Dye is averaging 9.6 rebounds per game. Kanequa Chancellor of UTEP is second with 9.5 rpg. Dye is also tied for eighth in the WAC in blocks with 0.9 per game. Senior guard Taneisha Gossett is tied for 17th in steals with 2.1 per game, while she is tied for 19th in blocks with 0.5 per game. As a team the Lady Rebels are tied for fifth in the WAC in rebounding, pulling down 40.0 per game. UNLV is also sixth in steals with 11.1 per game. The Lady Rebels are averaging 2.1 blocks per game which ranks eighth in the conference.
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. UNLV hosted two games in the building during the 1996-97 season, losing to UCSB (101-77) on Dec. 30 and defeating Air Force Academy (85-62) on Feb. 20.
Lady Rebel Honors
Senior guard Taneisha Gossett was the only Lady Rebel 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
UNLV had two opponents this season that are currently ranked in the top four. The Lady Rebels lost to Louisiana Tech (4th-USA Today/ESPN, 4th-AP) on Nov. 28 and lost to Connecticut (3rd-USA Today/ESPN, 3rd-AP) on Dec. 27. UNLV will face Utah twice this season. The Utes are ranked 16th in the USA Today/ESPN poll and 17th in the AP. The Lady Rebels also have three teams on their schedule who are receiving votes for the polls. They are Colorado State, Hawai’i and New Mexico.
The Last Time
UNLV broke its 26-game road losing streak by defeating Air Force (88-74) on Saturday. UNLV’s last road win before that was at Long Beach State (64-63) during the 1995-96 season. UNLV is 2-0 vs. UTEP at home. The Lady Rebels won 87-56 during the 1979-80 season and 68-38 during the 1987-88 season. UNLV is 7-0 vs. New Mexico at home. UNLV won the last meeting in Las Vegas 79-39 during the 1983-84 season.
Last Week
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.
Next Week
UNLV will be on the road next week as it travels to the state of Utah to battle BYU and Utah. UNLV will face BYU on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7:00 p.m. MST. The Lady Rebels will then battle Utah on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 3:00 p.m. MST.
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.
Lady Rebel Returnees
The Lady Rebels return eight players from last year’s roster. 6-1 junior forward Angalete Dye is one of the returning post players. She recorded career highs of 30 points and 13 rebounds vs. TCU, the last game of the 1996-97 season. One of three seniors, 5-5 guard Toby Girard ran the point last season. She averaged 8.9 ppg. Another senior, 5-9 guard Taneisha Gossett returns as the Lady Rebels’ leading scorer, recording 10.7 ppg during 1996-97. Sophomore guard Sara Hoopes, the only local player on the team, redshirted last year and is currently academically ineligible. The final senior, 5-11 forward Tekeira Strambler saw limited action last season recording a career-best 16 points vs. Fairfield. Karen Webster, a 5-8 junior guard returns at the two-guard spot. She averaged 3.3 ppg last season. Liz Wolfe, a 6-3 junior center looks to be one of the more improved players on the team. Wolfe averaged 3.1 ppg and 3.7 rpg last year. The final returnee is 6-foot junior forward Amy Wunderlich. The most physical player on the team, she averaged 6.1 ppg and 5.0 rpg.
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.
Head Coach LaDonna McClain
Head Coach LaDonna McClain (Missouri Southern, ‘87) is in her second season at UNLV with a record of 6-35. The fifth head coach in the 23-year history of the UNLV women’s basketball program, she was hired in the spring of 1996 to replace former Head Coach Jim Bolla. In her first season with UNLV her team recorded a 4-23 mark. McClain came from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., where she headed that program for six seasons. APSU went 5-21 in her first season and she built it into the 1995-96 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season co-champions and tournament champions. She also led that team to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. McClain is in her eighth season as a head coach and has a career record of 66-138.
Assistant Coaches
Coming from Austin Peay State University with McClain are second-year UNLV assistant coaches Sheryl Krmpotich (Xavier, ‘92), Marcus Payne (Southwestern, ‘87) and Carrie Daniels (Austin Peay, ‘96). Director of Basketball Operations Steve Corraro (UNLV, ‘95) is in his fifth season with the program.
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
Games through Jan. 11
Rank Team Record Pts Prv
1. Tennessee (38) 17-0 950 1
2. Old Dominion 13-0 912 2
3. Connecticut 15-1 870 3
4. Louisiana Tech 12-2 830 4
5. Texas Tech 10-2 786 5
6. Vanderbilt 13-1 759 6
7. North Carolina 12-2 714 8
8. Illinois 12-4 618 11
9. Arizona 9-3 574 10
10. No Carolina State 14-1 566 17
11. Stanford 6-4 533 14
12. Florida 11-4 472 12
13. Washington 10-2 455 7
14. Wisconsin 13-3 434 15
15. Virginia 11-3 426 9
16. SW Missouri St 12-1 353 13
17. Utah 12-0 301 22
18. Western Ky 13-4 226 19
19. Georgia 10-4 220 20
20. Nebraska 12-5 175 16
T21. Auburn 11-3 157 18
T21. Florida Intl 13-1 157 21
23. Clemson 13-3 153 --
24. Purdue 10-5 133 23
25. Duke 10-4 113 25
Others Receiving Votes: Stephen Austin 94, Arkansas 52,
Colorado St 45, Hawai’i 45, Drake 42, Marquette 37, Iowa St 32,
Alabama 26, Tulane 22, Kansas 15, Memphis 12, Notre Dame 10,
Colorado 7, Iowa 7, Michigan 7, UCLA 5, Oklahoma St 2,
Baylor 1, Duquesne 1, Penn St 1.
Italics indicate 1997-98 UNLV opponent
USA TODAY/ESPN TOP 25
Games through Jan. 12
Rank Team Record Pts Prv
1. Tennessee (59) 17-0 1,499 1
2. Old Dominion (1) 13-0 1,435 2
3. Connecticut 15-1 1,370 3
4. Louisiana Tech 12-2 1,317 4
5. Vanderbilt 13-1 1,233 5
6. Texas Tech 10-2 1,203 6
7. North Carolina 12-2 1,113 7
8. Illinois 12-4 994 11
9. No Carolina St 14-1 963 13
10. Arizona 9-3 847 10
11. Wisconsin 12-4 819 12
12. Virginia 11-3 745 9
13. Washington 10-2 726 8
14. Stanford 6-4 714 15
15. Florida 11-4 664 14
16. Utah 12-0 516 22
17. SW Missouri St 12-1 460 17
18. Western Ky 13-4 362 19
19. Georgia 10-4 358 18
20. Duke 10-4 271 23
21. Nebraska 12-5 266 16
22. Florida Intl 13-1 229 21
23. Clemson 13-3 223 NR
24. Auburn 11-3 204 20
25. Purdue 10-5 189 25
Others Receiving Votes: Hawai’i 139, Stephen Austin 95,
Tulane 78, Marquette 50, Iowa St 43, Drake 42, Arkansas 41,
Colorado St 37, Notre Dame 31, Santa Barbara 31, Colorado 25,
Memphis 23, Oklahoma St 22, Alabama 16, Kansas 15, American 14,
Iowa 10, New Mexico 9, SMU 9, So Mississippi 9, Florida St 7,
Michigan 5, Portland 5, Penn St 4, UCLA 4, Montana 3,
St Josephs Pa 3, Texas Arlington 3, Geo Washington 2,
Miami Fla 2, NE Louisiana 2, Liberty 1.
Italics indicate 1997-98 UNLV opponent
STANDINGS
1997-98 WAC Standings (as of Jan. 11)
Mountain Division
WAC Games All Games
W L Pct. W L Pct.
Utah 3 0 1.000 12 0 1.00
Colorado State 3 1 .750 12 2 .857
UTEP 3 1 .750 8 5 .615
New Mexico 2 2 .500 12 4 .750
Wyoming 2 2 .500 5 8 .385
UNLV 1 2 .333 2 12 .143
Air Force 0 3 .000 5 8 .385
Brigham Young 0 3 .000 5 8 .385
Pacific Division
WAC Games All Games
W L Pct. W L Pct.
SMU 4 0 1.000 11 3 .789
Hawai’i 3 0 1.000 12 1 .923
TCU 2 2 .500 11 4 .733
Fresno State 2 2 .500 7 8 .467
Rice 1 2 .333 8 5 .615
San Diego State 1 2 .333 5 7 .417
Tulsa 1 2 .333 5 8 .385
San Jose State 0 4 .000 4 11 .267
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 contsts 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.
UNLV’S RECORD WHEN IT:
Plays on Monday.. 0-0
Plays on Tuesday.. 1-0
Plays on Wednesday.. 0-1
Plays on Thursday.. 0-1
Plays on Friday.. 0-3
Plays on Saturday.. 1-5
Plays on Sunday.. 0-2
Plays during the afternoon.. 1-6
Plays at night.. 1-6
leads at halftime.. 2-4
is behind at halftime.. 0-7
is tied at halftime.. 0-1
shoots a higher FG% than opp.. 2-2
shoots a lower FG% than opp.. 0-10
shoots an equal FG% as opp.. 0-0
shoots a higher 3pt% than opp.. 2-3
shoots a lower 3pt% than opp.. 0-9
shoots an equal 3pt% as opp.. 0-0
shoots a higher FT% than opp.. 0-1
shoots a lower FT% than opp.. 2-11
shoots an equal FT% as opp.. 0-0
has more rebounds than opp.. 1-3
has less rebs than opp.. 0-8
has equal rebs as opp.. 1-1
has more assists than opp.. 2-3
has less assists than opp.. 0-9
has equal assists as opp.. 0-0
has more turnovers than opp.. 0-10
has less turnovers than opp.. 1-1
has equal turnovers as opp.. 1-1
has more fouls than opp.. 1-10
has less fouls than opp.. 0-1
has equal fouls as opp.. 1-1
has more blocks than opp.. 0-6
has less blocks than opp.. 0-5
has equal blocks as opp.. 2-1
has more steals than opp.. 2-7
has less steals than opp.. 0-5
has equal steals as opp.. 0-0
UNLV’S 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.
