Lady Rebels’ goal loftier than being competitive

Adam Candee

Monday, March 7, 2005 | 9:18 a.m.

The Lady Rebels spent 14 conference games proving that they can hang with the best of the Mountain West.

With just a 6-8 record in those games, however, whether they can actually beat those top teams at this week's MWC tournament in Denver is in question.

The latest of UNLV's near-miss losses came Saturday at Cox Pavilion, where the Lady Rebels fell behind 19 points in the second half to Utah before rallying and eventually falling short in a 61-55 defeat. The loss dropped the Lady Rebels (15-13, 6-8) to the No. 5 seed for the conference playoffs, where they will open Wednesday against No. 4 Wyoming in quarterfinal play.

With the exception of its upset against top seed New Mexico in January, UNLV has competed well but fallen short against all of the better opponents it has faced this season. Its 26-point loss at BYU and 16-point loss at San Diego State were the only lopsided defeats in conference play, but UNLV struggled to put away opponents as well.

Winning three games in Denver to earn the conference crown and an NCAA tournament bid will likely require UNLV to beat either the Lobos or second-seeded Utes - if not both.

Although UNLV was picked by conference coaches as the preseason favorite, coach Regina Miller feels her team is under far less pressure after a mediocre regular season that crumbled without injured all-conference forward Sherry McCracklin.

"There's nothing to lose and there's everything to gain for us," Miller said.

UNLV did not play like it had much to gain early against Utah (23-6, 12-2), falling behind by 12 points at halftime and allowing the Utes a 7-0 run in the first three minutes of the second half to build a 45-26 lead. Utah shot 59 percent from the floor in the first half, as junior forward Kim Smith - the two-time MWC player of the year - dropped in 15 of her game-high 25 points before halftime.

"She's a special player," Utah coach Elaine Elliott said of Smith. "I think people understand that."

Smith's layup with just under eight minutes remaining gave Utah a 56-42 lead, but the Lady Rebels responded with a 10-0 spurt over the next three minutes to make the Utes sweat a bit. After pulling within 58-55 with 2:44 to play, UNLV missed three shots in two possessions over the next two minutes to give away their last chance.

"We were just so close so many times, but we just couldn't get over that final hole," UNLV senior forward RanDee Henry said.

Miller credited the constant attack of her guards in pressure defense for pulling her team back into the game. In particular, freshman Sequoia Holmes (13 points, six rebounds, four steals) and junior Nejlah Clark played excellent defense against the Utes' best players as the Lady Rebels rallied.

"I was pleased with our heart and our refusal to quit because I can't say we've done that consistently," Miller said.

Problems remain, though, as Utah made simple adjustments to stop UNLV's charge. After playing man-to-man defense throughout the game, Elliott switched to a 2-3 zone that flustered the Lady Rebels down the stretch, as it has all year. For as long as UNLV puts up 3-point showings like its 5-for-17 mark against Utah, teams are likely to sag into zones against it.

"I think we can play against a zone," Miller said. "I'm going to tweak our offense and give them a little more movement."

Wyoming might employ similar tactics Wednesday in the rubber match between the evenly matched teams. They split two games this year, with the Cowgirls winning by three points, 46-43, in Laramie, Wyo., and the Lady Rebels holding on for a 70-66 victory in Las Vegas.