Frohlich, Lady Rebels soar to tournament crown

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Nov. 26, 2001 | 10:27 a.m.

UNLV Lady Rebels head coach Regina Miller felt it was critical for her squad to get off to a quick start in Sunday night's Cox Communications/Lady Rebel Shootout championship finale against Tennessee Tech.

She got it.

Behind the play of tournament co-MVPs Linda Frohlich (28 points, 13 rebounds) and Constance Jinks (21 points, 9 assists), the Lady Rebels jumped out to a 31-9 lead and never looked back in scoring an impressive 88-67 victory over the Golden Eaglettes before a crowd of 588 at Cox Pavilion.

"I thought it was key that we came out aggressive in the first half," Miller said. "In the last couple of games we've played we did not come out and set the tone."

That certainly wasn't the case on Sunday night as UNLV improved its record to 4-0.

A little over three minutes into the game, the quicker and bigger Lady Rebels had jumped out to a 13-3 lead ... and Frohlich had yet to score a point. The 6-foot-2 senior forward from Oldendorf, Germany, would go on to score 16 of her team-high 28 before intermission as UNLV built a 50-27 halftime lead.

The Lady Rebels, who shot a sizzling 55.6 percent (35 of 63) from the floor for the game, led by as many as 31 points (66-35) early in the second half.

"Today I think we showed a lot about Lady Rebel basketball, the kind of basketball we're capable of playing," Frohlich said. "We wanted to come out quick. They're a good team. We were focused. We weren't scared. We just played our game."

Tennessee Tech (2-2), which plays in the shadow of perennial NCAA women's powerhouse Tennessee, is no cupcake. The Golden Eaglettes have won the Ohio Valley Conference title 10 of the previous 15 years under head coach Bill Worrell and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two years. Tech whipped Ole Miss, 77-55, in its season opener and gave Mississippi State all it could handle before falling, 97-85, in Starkville.

"They have an RPI of 41 which is better than us," Miller said.

"They beat Ole Miss which is an SEC school. It's a good win for us."

An even bigger win -- one that could catapult UNLV into the Top 25 national rankings -- would be Saturday against 16th-ranked Georgia in the first round of the Oakland Tribune Classic at Cal.

"I think they're going to give Georgia a lot of trouble," Worrell said. "If UNLV can take their home game on the road, they're going to be a team to be reckoned with.

"Playing them on a neutral court means a lot. I was impressed (with UNLV)."

"That will be a true test playing a team like Georgia," Miller admitted.