Lady Rebels turn over game to Arkansas St.

Steve Carp

Monday, Nov. 25, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

It's going to take some time, but like the temperature, UNLV's turnover count figures to drop as the days get shorter in the coming weeks. At least Lady Rebels coach LaDonna McClain hopes so.

Twenty-seven miscues spelled doom for McClain's team Sun day as Arkansas State took advantage and pulled away down the stretch at the South Gym to win the UNLV Desert Classic, 78-66.

UNLV, which managed to beat Sam Houston State 61-58 Saturday despite 27 turnovers, couldn't pull off a similar feat in the championship game. ASU cashed in when it had the opportunities and reeled off 18 points in the final six minutes to just four for UNLV.

"It's a game of runs and they finished with the last run," McClain said. "Despite the loss, I saw a lot of improvement. Our guards stepped up. Our big people made plays and we got a nice lift from our bench.

"But we've got to learn to be patient and take care of the ball."

The Lady Rebels appeared to be in control late in the first half, holding a 35-30 lead with 1:33 to go. But Arkansas State scored the final six points of the half to lead 36-35 at intermission and the run extended to 15-2 to start the second half.

UNLV found itself down by as many as 10 before rallying behind the shooting of Toby Girard and the rebounding of Amy Wunderlich. Girard scored five of her 11 points to spark an 11-0 run midway through the half to put UNLV ahead 56-55. Wunderlich grabbed four key rebounds to help keep the run going.

But the energy exerted in the comeback took its toll on the Lady Rebels as their shooting went ice-cold in the final six minutes. Taneisha Gossett's layup, the last of her team-high 16 points, was UNLV's lone field goal over the last 6:12.

Mozell Maddox led Arkansas State (2-0) with 19 points. Former Las Vegas High star Kathy Dyess had 11 points for the Indians.

"I think they learned how good they can be," McClain said of her team, which fell to 1-1. "It's going to take time for us to learn each other. We have a lot of new faces trying to blend in with the returning players.

"But they're playing hard. The effort's there. As long as we keep working and improving, we'll be OK. Our goal is to be ready for the WAC and today was a step toward that."

Illinois, which lost to Arkansas State Saturday, took third place by beating Sam Houston State, 92-71. Arkansas State's Amy Townes was selected as the tournament's Most Valuable Player while UNLV's Celeste Taylor, who had 10 points and 14 rebounds Sunday, was the Lady Rebels' lone representative on the all-tournament team.