Lady Rebels enjoy home court edge in postseason

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 | 9:36 a.m.

Although they are discovering there's no place like home during the Women's National Invitation Tournament, the Lady Rebels aren't exactly sure how they got there.

Because this tournament is mostly about the bottom line and the Lady Rebels don't draw well at Cox Pavilion, they figured they would be traveling for as long as their season lasted.

Instead, they were awarded two home games to begin the tournament and will play a third, against 20-13 Western Kentucky, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Cox.

This is far as UNLV (24-7) has advanced in the revamped WNIT, and the home court advantage has certainly helped.

Last week, in an attempt to motivate her players before their WNIT opener against Arizona State, coach Regina Miller told the Lady Rebels that the unexpected home game against the Sun Devils was the WNIT's way of rewarding them for an outstanding 20-win season.

Well, not exactly.

Because ASU was hosting the first two rounds of the women's NCAA tournament, it took the decision out of the WNIT committee's hands. The same holds true for Wednesday night, as E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, the Lady Toppers' home floor, is hosting the Kentucky high school girls' championships this weekend.

So it's not as if somebody with the WNIT is trying to do the Lady Rebels a huge favor by letting them play at home -- regardless of what Rice coach Cristy McKinney thinks.

After losing to UNLV 68-66 Sunday afternoon, McKinney complained about having to travel to Las Vegas, especially after being told by the WNIT that Rice would get to stay home for the second round if it won at Arkansas State.

Brent Amick, whose company, Triple-A Sports of Fort Collins, Colo., runs the WNIT for the Women's College Sports Association, said a member of his staff told McKinney that the WNIT would try to schedule Rice for a second-round home game.

But he said nothing was promised.

Amick said his office looked into sending the Lady Rebels to Houston but due to spring break traffic, could not find enough seats on airplanes leaving Las Vegas.

"It was a more of a travel issue," he said. "All these decisions, which have to be made at short notice, are difficult. And when you make difficult decisions, there's always somebody who is not going to be happy."

But it's not as if the Owls earned the right to play at home any more than the Lady Rebels did. Rice's biggest home crowd this year was just 968, and that was with national powerhouse Louisiana State providing the opposition.

Although the circumstances are different, Western Kentucky coach Mary Taylor Cowles was delighted to be at Louisville International Airport on Monday, getting on a plane to Las Vegas with her players.

"We're just excited to still be playing basketball," she said.

"Playing at home was not an option, and since we're on spring break, we'd have to pay for hotel rooms in Bowling Green. So we might as well pay for hotel rooms in Las Vegas."

Cowles said she wanted to get to Las Vegas early for two reasons: First, her players need a little rest and relaxation following Sunday's wild 104-87 victory against Memphis. The second is that most of them have never been to Las Vegas, and she wanted them to give them plenty of free time.

"But we've still got some business to take care of," she said. "We're excited about the trip but we know we wouldn't be going to Las Vegas if it weren't to play a basketball game."

While the Lady Rebels are delighted to be playing at home, it's not as if they're going to get rich doing it. In fact, the three home games will probably wind up costing the athletic department a little money.

Schools that bid on home games are requited to put up a $6,000 guarantee for the privilege. UNLV's crowd for the first two games (711 for ASU and 615 for Rice) weren't large enough to break even.

"No, we won't break even, but we won't lose a substantial amount either," UNLV athletic director Mike Hamrick said.