Columnist Dean Juipe: BYU alters Lady Rebels’ party plans

Dean Juipe

Friday, March 1, 2002 | 10:38 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

Consider the celebration postponed if not canceled and the warning posted: No Poll Vaulting.

Expected to add a couple of victories and make their way into the Associated Press women's top 25 by Monday, UNLV's Lady Rebels instead were smacked with a grim reminder Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

And there was nothing subtle about it.

As Brigham Young so forcefully demonstrated, the road to any women's championship in the Mountain West Conference routinely runs through Provo, Utah. Not that BYU monopolizes the league, but it has the intangible support and the financial wherewithal it takes to field formidable teams in most every sport.

The Cougars may or may not win the conference tournament next weekend but they figure to make a nuisance of themselves, especially after ending UNLV's 13-game home winning streak by pummeling the Lady Rebels 64-48 before a decent crowd that was very vocal until the outcome was assured.

The loss was particularly devastating to UNLV in that it already had circled Monday on its calendar. Out of the AP poll since Jan. 18, 1994, but on the verge of re-entering it after inching to the periphery, the Lady Rebels were hopeful of getting past BYU and Utah (on Saturday) and forcing themselves into the national spotlight that the weekly poll affords.

The greater concern now is regrouping and seeking a solution to a problem that BYU exposed when it ran three players at UNLV standout Linda Frohlich every time she touched the ball. While the school's all-time scoring leader averages a conference-best 22.1 points and 10.5 rebounds, she was limited to eight points and eight boards in a night so frustrating she could be seen talking to herself in disgust.

Her previous scoring low had been 11 points, and several minutes into the game with BYU it was highly unlikely that she wouldn't eclipse double figures. But, then again, the early portion of the game -- which saw UNLV jump out to an 8-2 lead -- was nothing at all like the remainder.

BYU turned it into a football game, scrapping for loose balls, roughhousing under the boards and breaking down the UNLV defense with an assortment of spiffy moves from the perimeter. The end result was impressive, as was the play of rock-solid junior forward Jennifer Leitner, who finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and an open invitation to play with the professional rugby team of her choice in the event she ever tires of basketball.

BYU, 9-4 and 18-8, spoiled the Lady Rebels' festive plans and don't think everyone in attendance didn't realize the poll toll. When the evening began UNLV had a better record than 16 teams in this week's AP poll and an almost certain spot in next week's edition if it could add a couple wins to its lusty record.

Instead, the Lady Rebels drop to 9-4 and 21-5 and no amount of soothing or consoling words will placate their wounded psyche or disguise a setback to a team it had beaten by nine only weeks earlier.

Though hardly insurmountable, it was a costly loss and it keeps UNLV from a breakthrough it had excitedly planned.

The party's off, at least for now.