Rank request

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002 | 10:40 a.m.

The UNLV Lady Rebels hope to make themselves feel at home on the Front Range this weekend. And if they do, a Top 25 ranking could be their reward.

Regina Miller's squad, ranked 27th in the latest Associated Press poll, flew to Denver this morning and then made a two-hour bus trip to Laramie, Wyo., where UNLV (14-1, 2-0) will play Wyoming (7-7, 0-2) on Thursday night.

The Lady Rebels then face No. 20 Colorado State (13-3, 2-0) in what figures to be an early showdown for first place in the Mountain West Conference on Saturday afternoon at Moby Arena.

If the Lady Rebels are somehow able to come home with a sweep, they may well find themselves ranked in the Top 25 next week for the first time since Miller took over as head coach four years ago.

"If we can (sweep), I don't think we can be denied a spot in the Top 25," Miller said. "We're right there knocking on the door already."

"If they can beat Colorado State, they'll spike (in the ratings)," said Mel Greenberg of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who started the women's top 25 poll in 1976. "But whether that's enough to get into the ratings, I don't know. A lot would depend on what happens with the teams above them. And there are some other teams around the country kind of in the same boat as UNLV. Still, winning would be big for them. It would get them examined (by voters)."

It would also get them a victory over the preseason favorite in the conference, Colorado State, which just swept BYU and Utah on the road for the first time in school history.

"We know this is a big week for us," guard Julia Gray said after practice on Tuesday at the Cox Pavilion. "We just have to go out and take care of Wyoming first and then look forward to Colorado State. In this conference, winning road games is really important, so we're looking forward to trying to take care of business."

"It's an important week where we have to really focus and get ready for two tough games," said senior forward Linda Frohlich, who needs six rebounds to become the second player in Lady Rebels history to grab 1,000 rebounds in a career. "The team we're focusing on right now is Wyoming. We haven't even talked about Colorado State yet. That's not going to happen until Thursday night after the Wyoming game. We're definitely not overlooking Wyoming because when that happens, that's how you lose."

The Cowgirls may be only 7-7 overall, but they're 5-0 this year at Arena Auditorium (altitude 7,200 feet).

"They play very hard and unlike last year they're healthy," Miller said. "It's a game that could be critical for us down the stretch. So that's why it's been all Wyoming so far this week in practice. I haven't even talked about Colorado State."

And as much as she'd like to get her team ranked, Miller says that is secondary to the conference race right now.

"We can't put a lot of emphasis on (the polls) right now," Miller said. "I think what is really important is trying to win on the road. That's the focus. It's not the polls. Because if we're there at the end, that's all that really matters anyway."