Lady Rebels see No. 4 CSU as measuring stick

With a solid 15-9 record, UNLV's Lady Rebels basketball team has already exceeded its victory total (12) for the last three seasons combined under first-year head coach Regina Miller.

Excellent progress to be sure. But as Miller is quick to point out, the Lady Rebels still aren't where they'd like to be yet.

No, where UNLV would like to be one day is where Thursday night's WAC Mountain Division opponent at the Thomas & Mack, Colorado State (27-1, 12-0), currently resides. And the Rams, paced by senior All-American point guard Becky Hammon and senior forward Katie Cronin, rank No. 4 in the nation, the highest-ever rating for a WAC squad.

"I think (Thursday night's) game will be a measuring tool for where we are and how far we have to go," Miller said after practice Tuesday. "I think we'll get a better perspective of just where we are here than we did at Colorado State."

UNLV fell behind, 13-0, at Moby Arena en route to a 91-55 loss on Jan. 30.

"They're a very good team," Miller said. "They play well together. We will have to play almost a perfect game to defeat Colorado State."

Colorado State, which drew one first-place vote in this week's Top 25 poll, has been this year's surprise team in women's college basketball.

"I think it's a mystery for everybody," Cronin, who is averaging 15.6 ppg and 7.4 rpg, told the Rocky Mountain News last week. "But you smile and let it go.

"We're not the biggest, not the strongest, not the fastest," Cronin continued. "We can't figure it out ourselves. But, yeah, I think we're more than capable of being a Top 10 team."

The Rams have one of the nation's premier players in the 5-6 Hammon, who grew up in Rapid City, S.D., and is one of 10 finalists for the Naismith Award, which goes to the nation's top female player.

"She's a very heady player," Miller said. "Last time we played her she was 13-of-16 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and scored 36 points. She's a big-time competitor. One of our goals is to not let her score 36 points again."

Miller believes it benefits the WAC and the new Mountain West Conference, which the Rams will join along with UNLV next fall, to have a highly ranked team like Colorado State.

"It brings a lot of credibility to the conference," she said. "I think it's great for our conference. It gives us a very positive image across the country."

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