Lady Rebels working out kinks as MWC season approaches

Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2003 | 9:19 a.m.

UNLV forward Talisha Mitchell agreed that, at times, the Lady Rebels turn into spectators when slippery senior Constance Jinks is putting her signature on a game.

"I think we need to get out of that," Mitchell said after Tuesday night's 61-51 victory over Loyola Marymount. "We need to do it ourselves."

The Lady Rebels (8-4) did just that against the Lions (8-5), as Jinks fought a scoring funk with the Mountain West Conference schedule beginning a week from Saturday at San Diego State.

Before that, UNLV plays only once, at home Saturday (5 p.m. start) in Cox Pavilion against Cal State Fullerton.

Jinks finished with a game-high 18 points Tuesday, but Mitchell confirmed that it was a quiet 18. A span of more than 27 minutes elapsed in which Jinks, averaging 22.4 points, accounted for only one field goal.

At the start of the drought, UNLV led by 10. At the end of it, the Rebels held an 11-point lead.

"That's an improvement," UNLV coach Regina Miller said.

"But we all need to play better," Mitchell said. "If we all do that, then that creates room for improvement. Each one of us has to improve to make the team better."

The Lady Rebels scored 14 of the game's first 18 points, with Jinks scoring six before her touch began betraying her. She finished 7-for-21 from the field and 4-for-9 from the free-throw line, with one assist and five turnovers.

However, Jinks found other ways to lead. She had four of her team's 16 steals, including a second-half play that Miller beamed about, in which she hit the deck twice within two seconds to force a jump ball that gave UNLV possession.

"That's the energy I want us to bring," Miller said. "I don't want us to back off."

UNLV, which turned the ball over 20 times, forced 27 turnovers by Loyola. The Lions shot only 19 percent (5-for-26) in the first half, trailing 31-19 at the break.

"We brought a lot of defensive effort," Jinks said. "We had the mentality that if we didn't score, they didn't score."

Sheena Moore, a freshman guard from Lansing, Mich., helped ice the game for UNLV when she converted a three-point play -- all five Rebels touched the ball on the fastbreak that broke down Loyola's full-court press -- for a 55-42 lead with 5:25 left.

A minute later, Mitchell drilled a 17-foot jumper from the right side that boosted the Rebels' advantage to 59-43.

"I just relaxed. It's all about relaxing and hitting the shot," Mitchell said. "But I think what we did, overall, is, we got comfortable. That's what coach Miller told us after the game. We should have kept the pressure on them."