Lady Rebels tabbed to finish fourth in league

Victoria Sun

Thursday, Oct. 5, 2000 | 10:06 a.m.

First-place votes in parentheses

1. Utah (10), 136 points

2. Colorado State (5), 125

3. BYU (2), 110

4. UNLV (1), 105

5. New Mexico, 86

6. Wyoming, 53

7. San Diego State, 50

8. Air Force, 19

Will this be the year junior Linda Frohlich's patience pays off?

Frohlich, a 6-foot-2 forward on the UNLV women's basketball team, thinks so.

"This year we have everything," an enthusiastic Frohlich said at Wednesday's MWC media day gathering here. "We have tall players, quick players, shooters, players who can penetrate and strong players.

"Our versatility is definitely going up."

Frohlich has several reasons to believe her team will improve upon its 17-12 (8-6 in the Mountain West) record.

Two of them are junior transfer Viveca Lof of Stockholm, Sweden and freshman Petra Glaser.

Lof, a 6-3 forward/guard, and Glaser, a 6-6 center, are expected to take some of the pressure off Frohlich, the Mountain West's inaugural player of the year last season. Lof transferred from Cal State Northridge last season and has played on a Matadors team that went to the NCAA tournament. Glaser was a member of the German U-20 national team, and at 6-6 is the tallest player in the conference.

With Glaser and Lof on the roster, Lady Rebels head coach Regina Miller said the team will have many different looks.

"We can go big with the three of them or small with three guards," Miller said. "And I like that about our team.

"Each position is open. It's a good luxury to have."

UNLV returns four starters from a team that won six of its last seven games.

Frohlich, the 1998-99 National Freshman of the Year, led the conference in scoring (21.6 points per game), rebounding (11.4) and steals (3.21). Junior guard/forward Kinesha Davis was the team's second leading scorer with 14.3 points a game and second-leading rebounder with six.

Though Frohlich has shined for the Lady Rebels, she said the team has yet to live up to expectations. But she hasn't given up hope.

"Players are sophomores now, they know what it takes to win the championship," Frohlich said. "They know what to expect and what they have to do to win.

"This is the best team I've ever had (around me) my whole life. I'm willing to be patient with this team and wait for success because we are capable of doing it."

UNLV was picked to finish fourth in the conference in both the preseason coaches' and media polls.

"They picked us fourth, right in the middle of the pack and I think that's a good position to be in," Miller said. "We know that we can play with all other teams in the conference.

"I think the key to our overall success this year is that other players on our team such as Kinesha Davis, Constance Jinks, Erin Johansson and Danyna Gambill will have to be very consistent for us."