Lady Rebels start second run through MWC in comfort zone

Adam Candee

Friday, Feb. 11, 2005 | 10:12 a.m.

Let's assume the second half of the Mountain West Conference season cannot go any worse than the first half did for the Lady Rebels.

They engulfed a strong home upset of New Mexico with close losses, blowout defeats and the black void of a winless road record. UNLV enters its second crack at MWC opponents with a 2-5 against them, but the solace of playing five of the next seven games at home and the comfort that there is nowhere to go but up.

Round 2 begins Saturday afternoon at Cox Pavilion against San Diego State, perhaps the best reminder of UNLV's disappointing first seven conference games. The Lady Rebels (11-10, 2-5) fell behind early and never recovered in their conference opener in San Diego, losing 76-60, to give the Aztecs (6-13, 1-6) their only win thus far in the MWC.

"We did not play our game in the first half," UNLV forward RanDee Henry said. "We competed in the second half, but the first half was so horrible."

The loss to the Aztecs was one of five on the road, capped by a dismal 74-48 defeat last Saturday at BYU. The Lady Rebels are 0-5 on the road in conference play, and 1-6 away from Las Vegas overall.

That makes the second-half home stretch all the more important, as UNLV is 9-3 in Las Vegas this year. Continuing that success is the only way the Lady Rebels can salvage a season once filled with promise.

"I would hope you would see some inspired players in the second go-round," UNLV coach Regina Miller said.

Miller feels that her team's ability to finish close games will determine its success. The only recent game in which UNLV has done that is the win against New Mexico. Overall, the Lady Rebels are 2-4 in games decided by three points or less.

It's a mental issue, Miller said.

"When people really push on you with their game, you've got to respond," Miller said. "We've been trying to connect the mental with the physical. This game is 80 percent mental, 20 percent physical."

The only Mountain West team to have more trouble on the road than UNLV is San Diego State. The Aztecs are 0-8 away from home, and have a six-game overall losing streak.

Henry said the team is not looking at the seven-game chunk it must bite off, but only at Saturday's contest.

"I don't think there's really urgency," Henry said. "It's not really about being urgent because you can only take it game by game."