Monday, Jan. 7, 2002 | 10:31 a.m.
UNLV's Lady Rebels had a national platform Sunday afternoon to make their case for a Top 25 national ranking. They made a very good argument.
Behind the one-two punch of guard Constance Jinks and forward Linda Frohlich, the Lady Rebels (13-1, 1-0) silenced a sellout crowd of more than 17,000 at The Pit in Albuquerque en route to a 62-53 victory over the Lobos (11-4, 0-1) in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.
The game was televised by ESPN2, marking the first time in nine years the Lady Rebels appeared on national television.
Jinks scored 25 points, including the first 11 of the game for UNLV, while Frohlich added 20 points and 14 rebounds.
"I certainly hope the (poll) voters were watching and saw that our nonconference (record) was no fluke," UNLV head coach Regina Miller said. "To be able to go into The Pit and beat a very good New Mexico team like that in that kind of environment says a lot about this team."
New Mexico, which used a "Pack The Pit" promotion featuring $2 adult tickets ($1 for kids), entered the game with solid nonconference wins over Arizona and then-No. 9 Texas Tech.
"They were undefeated at home, so maybe people will realize now that we're a good team," Jinks said. "This was a big win for us."
It also was a big game for the 5-foot-7 Jinks, who atoned for a 3-of-13 shooting performance in UNLV's tougher-than-expected 76-72 overtime win over Northern Arizona on Friday night at the Cox Pavilion.
"I came out really focused," Jinks said. "I was kind of in a zone where I blocked everything else out. I just wanted to do whatever it took for us to win this game."
That included a number of long jumpers as New Mexico, no doubt aware of her struggles outside against Northern Arizona, concentrated on taking away her penetration to the basket.
"I thought they would play me tougher than they did," Jinks said. "They sagged off me to take away the drive. I worked hard all summer on getting an all-around game and shooting the open jump shot. I knew that was a part of my game I needed to work on. Today it paid off."
"She really stepped up today," Miller said. "We talked before the game about how they would probably play her and take away her penetration. She did a good job of taking the shots they gave her. Overall, I thought she played a very good floor game."
Jinks and Frohlich combined to score 33 of UNLV's 36 points in the first half as the Lady Rebels jumped out to a 36-25 lead.
"On the one hand you've got their All-American (Frohlich) and then Jinks is driving to the hole," New Mexico guard Molly McKinnon said. "You're watching two players at the same time. Jinks is so quick. She'll drive the lane on you or shoot the 3 on you."
New Mexico made a run at the Lady Rebels in the second half with a 9-0 spurt that cut UNLV's lead to 43-40 with 11:43 left. But Jinks hit an off-balance jumper in the lane and added a 15-footer a few moments later to up the Lady Rebels' lead to 47-41. New Mexico never got closer than five points after that.
Miller credited a zone defense with playing a key role in the victory. The Lady Rebels normally play man-to-man defense but switched to the zone to keep 6-3 Jordan Adams, the Lobos' leading scorer, from getting the ball inside most of the game. That forced New Mexico to shoot from the perimeter -- which produced very poor results. The Lobos made just 3 of 18 3-pointers in the first half and only 1 of 11 in the second half.
"Our zone really made the difference," Miller said.
"How the heck can you shoot 4 of 29?" New Mexico coach Don Flanagan said. "And I thought we got good looks. I guess they weren't, because they don't go in."
UNLV, which doesn't play again until Saturday night when it hosts San Diego State at the Cox Pavilion, will see if the win was enough to move it out of the "others receiving votes" portion of the polls.
"Any time you get a win on the road in conference play like this it is huge," Miller said. "Now we know we can compete with a team of the caliber of a New Mexico. And I think we did a good job of representing the Mountain West Conference today."
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