Lady Rebels have incentive tonight at Air Force
Thursday, Jan. 29, 2004 | 10:08 a.m.
It's the calm before the storm for the red-hot Lady Rebels, who return to Mountain West Conference play tonight at Air Force and Saturday at New Mexico, where a sellout crowd of 18,000-plus is expected to greet them at the raucous Pit.
By contrast, other than a few leather-lunged Cadets exercising their vocal chords, Clune Arena will be a tad on the sedate side tonight when the Lady Rebels (14-2, 3-0 MWC) and Falcons (3-13, 0-3) tip off.
But you don't need to remind UNLV coach Regina Miller that the lowly Falcons aren't capable of quietly going about their business. That's what happened in Colorado Springs last year, when Shawna Neff's layup with 11 seconds to go lifted Air Force to a stunning 73-72 victory, its first ever against the Lady Rebels.
"They might not have 18,000 people yelling at you, but some of those cadets (can make a lot of noise)," Miller said.
"They beat us last year, so that will give us a little extra incentive. We've got to play better than we did last year, but I think we'll be ready. Now that we're on the road after three weeks at home, we need to keep building momentum."
UNLV is one of two undefeated teams in the Mountain West (Utah is also 3-0) and is riding a nine-game winning streak. All but two of the Lady Rebels' 14 wins have been by 10 points or more, as their plus 14.3 scoring margin leads the conference. UNLV received 14 notes in this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Air Force, as usual, has struggled. The Falcons will be trying to break a seven-game losing skid at the Lady Rebels' expense and were held to under 30-percent shooting in lopsided losses at Utah and Brigham Young last week.
While it's never a good idea to look ahead, UNLV newcomers such as RanDee Henry, the Mountain West's leading scorer with a 19.4 average, said they've heard much more about New Mexico's passionate fans than they have the Air Force players.
"I haven't been on the road in the league," said Henry, a transfer from Detroit Mercy who is coming off a 33-point, 13-rebound effort in the Lady Rebels' 67-47 victory against Wyoming at Cox Pavilion Saturday. "But I heard New Mexico is crazy. I heard it is an awesome experience, to play at New Mexico in front of all of those fans.
"But Air Force is a team you can't overlook, because those are the type of teams that always catch you slippin'. So we have to be focused going into both games."
archive
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Live Main Event blog: Cada and Moon set to square off heads-up
- Ensign moves out of home on C Street
- Cada and Moon emerge as Main Event’s final two
- Fight snapshot: Reviewing “24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto,” episode 3
- Life in the Limelight: Wayne Newton
- Cities, county find buying valley homes isn’t easy
- Everclear’s Art Alexakis finds Hard Rock Cafe feels like home
- UNLV wins hoops scrimmage at Long Beach State
- Motorcyclist dies in Summerlin crash
- Six people share their stories of what led them to jobs at CityCenter
Blogs
Elsewhere
Fedor v. Rogers delivers solid ratings on CBS
Bloggity, Bloggity, Bloggity
If you can rebuild the whole car, then why not allow an engine change?
Sports: Upon Further Review
Fight snapshot: Pacquiao is a hit with Jimmy Kimmel, and vice versa
The Greene Room
MWC Winners and Losers: Week 10
The Kats Report
Buchanan was one of the city's truly flamboyant characters
Sports: Upon Further Review
Fight snapshot: Reviewing "24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto," episode 3
The Kats Report
Life in the Limelight: Wayne Newton (7 Comments)
Calendar »
- 9 Mon
- 10 Tue
- 11 Wed
- 12 Thu
- 13 Fri
-
Jo Dee Messina at the House of Blues
House of Blues | 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
-
The Revival Tour at Beauty Bar
Beauty Bar | 9 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
DJ Tina T at Prive
Prive | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
The Automatic Tour at The Square Apple
The Square Apple
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Technorati








