Lady Rebels regroup in time for fifth consecutive win

Adam Candee

Friday, Jan. 14, 2005 | 9:48 a.m.

This wasn't North Carolina or Minnesota -- or even New Mexico or Utah -- which is why the Lady Rebels won Thursday night at Cox Pavilion.

That much is clear to UNLV head coach Regina Miller after watching her team finally pull away late from a plucky Northern Colorado team to win, 88-68, for its fifth consecutive victory. It's why she plans to use some stark reminders of games like the Lady Rebels' solid win at Detroit and their battles against North Carolina and Iowa State to prepare for Friday's conference opener at San Diego State.

"That's the type of game film I'm going to pull out and say, 'Look, you need to go back to work now,' " Miller said.

As UNLV gradually built a 60-41 lead with 14:24 to play, such motivational tools didn't look to be necessary. But Northern Colorado, which hoisted up 33 attempts from 3-point range, hit three from long range to propel a 15-3 run during the next three minutes to surprisingly pull back into the game.

That's not exactly what Miller or anyone else had in mind against a first-year Division I team with a 3-12 record that lost last week at Utah by 50 points, even if the Lady Rebels (9-5) did regroup to hold off the Bears by allowing them just three field goals in the 10 minutes after their run.

"I don't think we're extremely satisfied because we didn't play as well as we'd like to play," Miller said.

UNLV shot the ball well, hitting at a 60 percent clip (12-of-20) in the second half, and can be thankful that Northern Colorado refused to do the same. The Bears hit just eight of those 33 tries from outside, which accounted for nearly half their shots in the game. Kendra Lambrecht led the Bears with 14 points.

Five Lady Rebels scored in double figures, led by 20 points from junior forward Nikki Hitchens to match a season best. Hitchens, a local product from Silverado High, missed the preseason and the first three regular-season games recovering from an MCL sprain in her left knee, but is maturing into a better all-around frontcourt presence in the continued absence of Sherry McCracklin.

"I'm focusing on finishing all my shots," Hitchens said. "The shots I do get, I try to finish."

Hitchens converted seven of her 11 shots Thursday, pushing her shooting percentage to 58 percent on the year, good for third among Mountain West Conference players. She also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Hitchens admits that keeping focus during a three-week stretch of lesser opponents is difficult, but credits Miller for not allowing a letdown.

"It's a little bit tough, but our coach tries to make us keep (focused)," Hitchens said. "We try to practice hard."

Miller tries to fight the natural inclination to look at a directional school and expect an easy game by challenging her players to go after their own goals.

"I think you've got to dig deep," Miller said. "The true spirit of competition starts within you. If you stop trying to be better, then we stop trying to be good."

Freshman forward Sequoia Holmes continued her strong play with 13 points and junior guard Sheena Moore totaled 12 points and nine assists.

Still, Miller expects more starting Friday in San Diego. The Aztecs (5-7) don't bring much to the table; they lost last week by 10 points to Canisius, which UNLV beat by 26 points, but the only way UNLV is likely going to the NCAA tournament is by winning the conference.

Miller expects no sympathy for UNLV's injury woes from anywhere in the Mountain West.

"They don't care if we're all eighth-graders," Miller said. "They just want to beat UNLV."

The Lady Rebels' crucial road trip continues next week with the physically demanding road trip to cold-weather stops in Wyoming and Colorado State.

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