As Moore dials in from long distance, Lady Rebels adjust

Friday, Jan. 9, 2004 | 10:08 a.m.

Ms. Inside and Ms. Mostly Inside, meet Ms. Outside.

For most of the year, the Lady Rebels have been a one-dimensional team, preferring to knock the ball inside to RanDee Henry, the Mountain West's leading scorer, or Sherry McCracklin, the conference's top rebounder, and then getting out of their way. That may be changing, given Sheena Moore's long-distance shooting at Saint Mary's last week.

Moore tied a school record with seven 3-point baskets on the way to a career-high 26 points in a 89-57 victory as the Lady Rebels achieved the offensive balance that coach Regina Miller was hoping to find before the start of the conference season.

UNLV, which owns the conference's best record at 10-2, will get its final tuneup before opening MWC play against San Diego State when it hosts Northern Arizona (6-4) of the Big Sky Conference at 3 p.m. Sunday.

It will be interesting to see if Moore can shoot a few of the Cox Pavilion lights out after darkening McKeon Pavilion at Saint Mary's by hitting 7-of-10 from beyond the arc.

"She gave us a big boost," said Miller, who had been using Moore off the bench before giving her a start against Saint Mary's. "She had the potential to start from the beginning but because of circumstances, we had to use her a little differently. But she's earned it."

Moore sat out the first six games, as she was one of several UNLV athletes disciplined for making unathorized long distance phone calls with a university PIN. But her shooting eye never went away.

It was the second time Moore, a 5-foot-7 sophomore from Lansing, Mich., went on a shooting spree, as she was named the Mountain West's outstanding player for the week of Dec. 22. But more often than not, points from the perimeter have been a bonus, rather than something the Lady Rebels have been able to count on.

Miller said she is hoping Moore's big night at Saint Mary's will also encourage InFini Robinson, the Rebels' shooting guard, to keep firing away in an effort to regain her stroke. With Henry being versatile enough to score from the wing, that would give UNLV a perimeter game as effective as its inside one.

"She's a pretty good shooter, too, although her statistics right now don't show it," Miller said of Robinson, who has made just 29 percent of her field-goal attempts and 25 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

Moore's big night at Saint Mary's improved her scoring average to a solid 15.7. She's one of three Lady Rebels averaging at least 14 points and curiously, her 3-point field-goal percentage (a blistering .556) is better than her overall field-goal percentage (.449).

Northern Arizona is building for the future under first-year coach Laurie Kelly but already has experienced some success, including a 60-44 victory against Nevada-Reno. NAU is 0-2 against the Mountain West, having lost 69-45 to 24th-ranked Utah and 48-39 to Wyoming.

Alyssa Wahl is the Lumberjacks' top scorer with a 14.4 average.

Miller said the Lady Rebels are "pretty focused" for NAU, saying they learned a lesson from Northern Arizona's shocking one-point victory against the UNLV men last month.