Thomas makes a name for herself in first round

Thursday, March 10, 2005 | 9:06 a.m.

DENVER -- She was such an unlikely hero that the Mountain West Conference didn't even prepare an official placard with her name on it for use in the postgame news conference, prompting a member of the press corps to scribble her name on a folded sheet of paper so she wouldn't feel slighted.

The well-meaning fellow spelled her first name wrong. But thankfully for the Lady Rebels, everything about Brittney Thomas' performance during crunch time was letter-perfect.

Thomas sank two consecutive 3-point jump shots against Wyoming's perplexing 2-3 zone defense during the final five minutes and added a pair of free throws with six seconds to play to help the Lady Rebels finally repel the comeback-minded Cowgirls 64-59 in an MWC tournament quarterfinal game at the Pepsi Center.

UNLV used a 17-0 first-half run to take command of what was expected to be a tossup between the No. 4 and 5 seeds and never trailed after that, although Wyoming battled from way back to forge four ties during the final eight minutes.

Then Thomas, a 37-percent shooter from beyond the arc during the regular season, went to work. Her first long one from the left side with 4:42 to play snapped a 52-52 tie. Her second one, with 2:16 to go, made it 58-54 and gave the Lady Rebels just enough breathing room when it appeared their uneven season might be on its last gasp.

"Early in the game I was a little off," said Thomas, a 5-foot-7 off guard who finished with 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting, obviously saving the best for last. "Mentally, I wasn't 100-percent there (because) hitting 3s and hitting shots is what I bring to the team."

But when it counted, she played up to her job description.

"I just relaxed and put it down, just like it was another shot in practice, and it came out good," Thomas said.

It was the second consecutive first-round tournament win for the Lady Rebels who will meet top-seeded New Mexico at noon on Friday in a battle of what many consider the two best teams in the Mountain West, UNLV's underachieving No. 5 seed notwithstanding. The Lobos routed San Diego State 81-52 in the first game of the tournament, much to the delight of a huge throng of red-clad supporters who made the trip up Interstate 25.

The Lady Rebels are just happy they'll still be around to hear the noisy New Mexico fans after surviving the rubber match with much-improved Wyoming.

"It always seems to be a battle every time we play against Wyoming -- really, any team in the league," said Regina Miller, coach of the 16-13 Lady Rebels. "Again, it gets back to anyone who's able to execute can win this tournament."

In addition to Thomas, two big reasons the Lady Rebels will have a chance to execute some more are Randee Henry and Sequoia Holmes, each of whom pulled down 14 rebounds. Holmes, from Las Vegas' Mojave High, set a MWC tournament record for a freshman with her 14 boards while Henry led UNLV with 16 points, including 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.

Free throws were also crucial, as the Lady Rebels sank 12 of 13 from the stripe while Wyoming (16-12) made 13 of 21. UNLV also dominated the backboards (36-20 rebounding edge) and scored 36 points in the paint to Wyoming's 20.

"I have this philosophy that you have to finish layups and make all free throws," said Miller, whose team did a much better job of the latter, given it hit just nine of 30 field-goal attempts in the second half.

"That's something that we talk about in practice. We shoot a lot of free throws but we don't run when we miss. Sometimes coaches have a tendency to do that and I think it reinforces the negative. We just shoot more (when we miss)."

Speaking of shooting more, that's probably something Ashley Elliott, Wyoming's all-conference star, shoyuld have done. Elliott scored 22 points and along with Hanna Zavecz (14 pts.) and Erin Hicks (13 pts.) were the catalysts behind the Cowgirls' rally from 13 down. But when the game was on the line, Elliott vanished, as the only shot she attempted during the last five minutes was a desperation 3-pointer just before the final buzzer.

"Our focus on Ashley has been when she gives the ball up, really make her work to get it back," Miller said. "She's the type of player who's going to play 40 minutes, she has all season."

On Wednesday, Elliott played 39 minutes but admitted she might have a wee bit winded from all the attention from the Lady Rebels.

"They put a little bit of pressure on the whole game and we just weren't able to come up with some shots at the end," she said. "They put a little bit more pressure on me on the outside but we still had our open shots, and they just weren't falling, so you can't ask for anything else."

Miller, however, can. She will ask her team for another strong effort against an oustanding 23-4 New Mexico unit against which it has split two close games.

"New Mexico is playing well; they've been consistent," Miller said. "I'm not going to give you the magic plan, but in some way we have to disrupt their flow. I think the team that does the best in their style of play is going to win."