Miller focused on winning last two non-league games

Friday, Jan. 2, 2004 | 10:25 a.m.

It's a new year, and the Lady Rebels' players are ready for a new challenge.

But the Lady Rebels' coach says not so fast.

"We're ready. Bring it on," rebounding wiz Sherry McCracklin said in anticipation of the Mountain West Conference season, which for UNLV won't begin until Jan. 17.

Which is fine by Lady Rebels coach Regina Miller.

"We need two more tune-ups," said Miller, smiling at the mention of her players' exuberance.

Not so coincidentally, that's just what lies ahead on the Lady Rebels' schedule. UNLV will travel to Moraga, Calif., to face Saint Mary's of the West Coast Conference on Saturday night before returning home to host Northern Arizona of the Big Sky on Jan. 11.

Then, and only then, Miller says, will she begin looking ahead to the MWC opener against San Diego State at Cox Pavilion.

"It would be nice to go into conference with two more wins," said Miller, whose team improved to 9-2 with an easy 83-57 victory against Cal Poly Tuesday night.

It also would be nice to establish a patter of success on the road, what with the conference season drawing near.

While UNLV has been unstoppable at home (7-0, including solid victories against Richmond and Mississippi State), it is only 2-2 on the road, with both defeats coming in California. UNLV lost at UCLA in November before Loyola-Marymount, one of Saint Mary's WCC brethren, handled the Lady Rebels, 76-64, on Dec. 15.

That was the last time UNLV lost.

"We need to get out to a lead, and then we need to maintain it," Miller said about the key to continuing to win away from Cox Pavilion and the Thomas & Mack Center, scene of Tuesday's victory against Cal Poly.

Against Marymount, UNLV did neither.

But if McCracklin and RanDee Henry, the heart and soul of the Lady Rebels, continue to play as they have and get a little help from their friends, UNLV should have a chance to ring in the new year with a win.

McCracklin, a 6-foot-2 forward, leads the nation in rebounding with a 13.2 average and also is averaging 14.4 points. She is coming off a 21-point, 16-rebound effort on Tuesday.

Henry, a 6-foot-1 forward, leads the conference in scoring with 18.2 points per game.

Saint Mary's will bring a 7-5 record into Saturday's game and is 1-1 against the Mountain West, having beaten San Diego State, 52-47, and lost to No. 25 Utah, 69-40. The Gaels also beat Nevada-Reno, 76-73.

If the Lady Rebels have their way, it figures to be an uptempo game, as UNLV is 8-0 when scoring 70 points.