Lady Rebels give No. 14 Minnesota a close call

Adam Candee

Monday, Nov. 15, 2004 | 9:23 a.m.

The Lady Rebels awoke today to find the best possible medicine for coming torturously close to upsetting 14th-ranked Minnesota on Sunday night in Seattle: a chance to get right back on the court.

UNLV faces South Carolina today at 5 p.m. in its second game of the WBCA/BTI Classic, with its collective mind set on erasing the memory of dropping its season opener, 77-69, after twice pulling within a point of the Gophers in the second half -- even missing a potential go-ahead layup.

Sheena Moore scored a career-high 34 points and added seven rebounds to help the cause, but Minnesota used a huge advantage at the free-throw line to control the scoring and the tempo. Lady Rebels coach Regina Miller ruefully recognized the chance, the kind a team only gets once or twice in most seasons, to steal a head-turning win against a high-quality opponent.

"I would have liked to have upset them," Miller said Sunday night. "We had a great opportunity to."

The Lady Rebels trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, but never allowed Minnesota to get comfortable. Trying to catch up to the Gophers, though, took a toll on the Lady Rebels in the second half as they attempted to finally pull ahead. UNLV committed 22 turnovers.

"You spend a lot more energy playing from behind than you do from ahead," Miller said. "We were in the game the whole game."

The Rebels, themselves without starting forwards Sherry McCracklin (Achilles) and Nikki Hitchens (knee), caught Minnesota without All-American center Janel McCarville (hand). But forward Jaime Broback gave UNLV fits, getting to the line 15 times en route to 28 points and seven rebounds.

Minnesota outscored the Lady Rebels at the stripe by 17 points, going 27-of-36 while UNLV only shot 12 free throws.

"They were really trying to get to the rim," Miller said.

Guards Kelly Roysland totaled 16 points and Shannon Schonrock added 11 for Minnesota, and UNLV could not match the scoring balance of the Gophers. Guard LaTosha Pace scored 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, off the bench for UNLV, but no starter beside Moore scored more than five points.

After tallying 31 points and 14 rebounds in the Lady Rebels' lone exhibition game, starting forward RanDee Henry struggled with just two points and six rebounds against Minnesota.

Still, Miller felt her squad played a consistently better game than it did in the exhibition contest. She especially enjoyed Moore's performance after calling upon her junior point guard to run the team with more efficiency.

Moore, shifting from off guard to the point this season, responded with a 12-of-21 shooting effort, including 4-of-7 from the arc. She also hit all six of her free throws and kept the offense moving as best she could.

"A lot of our offensive sets, the point guard keeps the ball in hand a lot," Miller said. "She took advantage of some mismatches off the dribble and made some plays."

Moore will be key to UNLV's game plan today, as Miller hopes to push the tempo against a South Carolina team featuring a huge -- and international -- frontcourt. With 6-foot-6 Ilona Burgrova (Czech Republic), 6-foot-5 Iva Sliskovic (Croatia) and 6-foot-4 Olga Gritsaeva (Russia) clogging the paint, Miller hopes to use more of the quick three-guard lineup she employed Sunday night to combat the Gamecocks' size advantage.

"These are two legitimate teams from good conferences to open the season with," Miller said.

The Lady Rebels open their home schedule Friday at 7 p.m. at home against Central Florida.