Lady Rebels hang on to stun Loyola-Marymount

Victoria Sun

Friday, March 16, 2001 | 11:08 a.m.

LOS ANGELES -- When Loyola Marymount charged at the Lady Rebels in the second half, they didn't flinch.

Because of that, UNLV extended its season Thursday night before a raucous announced crowd of 588 predominantly pro-Lion fans.

UNLV sophomore Kinesha Davis calmly sank two free throws with 12 seconds left to help the Lady Rebels to a 59-56 victory over LMU in the first round of the WNIT at Albert Gersten Pavilion.

"I was just thinking, keep my elbows in, follow through and just hit them," said Davis, who led UNLV with 20 points.

After Davis' two free throws, LMU forward Kate Murray hoisted up a desperation 3-pointer with two seconds left that clanged off the rim. It was enough time for Lion Jasmin Matthews to grab the rebound, but her follow- up also missed.

UNLV (19-9), making its first postseason appearance in nine years, will play the winner of the Oklahoma State-North Texas game at a site and time to be determined.

The win was especially gratifying for Davis, who remembered the time the Lady Rebels lost in the first round of the preseason WNIT last year to UC Santa Barbara.

"It's a big deal for us," she said about advancing to the second round. "We have (athletic director Charlie) Cavagnaro and (president) Carol Harter following us.

"When you have the support of the administrators, it's a good feeling."

The Lady Rebels were feeling good after dominating the first half with their size and quickness for a 27-16 lead, before someone woke up the Lions, who appeared to be asleep.

LMU outscored UNLV 13-5 to open the second half and pull within three points, 32-29.

From there UNLV kept the lead because of some heady plays by the usually reliable Davis and from a surprising source, reserve guard Tiana Sanders.

Sanders made some key baskets including a layup followed by a putback to keep the Lions out of reach. Sanders finished with season highs in points (10) and rebounds (six), earning the praise of UNLV coach Regina Miller.

"Tiana was by far the player of the game," Miller said. "She stepped up big time."

LMU took its only lead when Raelen Self hit a 3-pointer with five minutes left in the game to make it 50-49, but UNLV's Dayna Gambill answered with a layup. The Lady Rebels never trailed again.

Mountain West player of the year Linda Frohlich helped the Rebels defensively with 13 rebounds (11 defensive) and four blocks to go along with 14 points.

Miller employed a variety of defenses to prevent the Lions from getting into a rhythm in the first half and it worked. By halftime, UNLV outrebounded LMU 29-18 and forced the team to shoot 16.7 percent from the floor (1-of-6 3-pointers).

"I knew LMU would come out much stronger in the second half because I knew they wouldn't keep shooting 16 percent, so it was frustrating at times because we should have been up by 20 points," she said. "Winning this one was a huge confidence boost, especially playing on the road because they play very well here."