McCracklin not likely to return

Adam Candee

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005 | 10:10 a.m.

UNLV senior Sherry McCracklin hates doing the cheerleading thing, but Lady Rebels coach Regina Miller said Tuesday that McCracklin is unlikely to play this season.

Miller previously said that McCracklin, a preseason all-conference pick at power forward, would continue to rehabilitate from a torn Achilles' tendon and subsequent ankle injury, possibly returning during the Mountain West Conference slate.

The Lady Rebels started conference play with three consecutive road losses and return home Thursday to face New Mexico. They will apparently go the rest of the way with no help from McCracklin.

"We're getting fairly late and it's pretty doubtful," Miller said.

McCracklin has not played this season after tearing her right Achilles' tendon in an Oct. 4 preseason pickup game. Originally scheduled for a late November return, McCracklin injured her ankle while rehabbing, which moved the timetable into January. She then re-injured the same ankle, ending reasonable hope for a return this season.

"It still feels like it did the day I re-injured it," McCracklin dejectedly said at Tuesday's practice, adding that she has little muscle mass in the calf above the ankle.

McCracklin averaged 12.9 points and led the conference at 9.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game as a junior, earning first-team All-MWC honors and establishing herself as a dominant post presence. UNLV (9-8, 0-3 MWC) has missed her toughness in the paint and Miller continues to scramble the lineup to try to make up for McCracklin's all-around contributions.

Junior guard Sheena Moore leads the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game and senior forward RanDee Henry ranks second in the conference at 9.2 rebounds per game.

For the first time in conference history, UNLV dropped its first three league games. The Lady Rebels also made history by recording their first-ever three-game losing streak in the Mountain West.

The going gets no easier against the Lobos (14-2, 3-0 MWC), who lead the conference after sweeping a three-game homestand against Air Force, BYU and Utah.