Froehlich leads Lady Rebels to 8-3

Freshman scores 37, grabs 15 rebounds

They were stats most college basketball players would be pleased with: 23 points, seven rebounds.

But Linda Froehlich wasn't satisfied. She still had another half to play.

When it was all over, UNLV's versatile German freshman scored 37 points and posted career highs with 15 rebounds and five assists to lead the Rebels past New Orleans 70-51 Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"She was really on," Rebels head coach Regina Miller said. "She was in a zone."

UNLV, which shot 54 percent from the floor, enters Western Athletic Conference play on Saturday at Air Force on a three-game winning streak. With an 8-3 record, the Rebels already have doubled their victory total from each of the previous three seasons.

The Rebels were without forward Angalete Dye, who came down with chicken pox. Dye ranks third on the team in scoring at 8.8 points per game and second in rebounding at 7.8.

But Froehlich filled the void with her fifth double-double of the season.

"It just happened," the 6-foot-2 guard/forward said after signing a few autographs. "Offensively, it was almost perfect. I found the openings, I got passes from my teammates and I made the shots.

"I just knew they would all go in today. It was weird."

In the first half Froehlich converted 10 of her 14 shots from the floor and single-handedly outscored the Pioneers, who trailed 33-19 at the intermission.

"Once I saw she was on fire, I tried to get the ball to her every time," said point guard Kristen Pool, who had 10 points and nine assists.

UNLV increased its lead to 19 points early in the second half, but UNO didn't fold. The Pioneers used a 12-0 rally to close the gap to six with 10:21 remaining.

"I thought we got a little fatigued in the second half," Miller said, noting her team was playing its third game in eight days. "We were not as active as we should have been on defense.

"But we were able to go into our reserve tanks to find the energy and put the game away."

A pair of Froehlich 3-pointers from the top of the key, sandwiched around an Eishia Brightwell layup, distanced the Rebels once more. The Pioneers never got closer than 12 points again.

UNLV outrebounded UNO 48-25. Liz Wolfe grabbed eight, Amy Wunderlich had six and Sarah Onion added five. No Pioneer had more than four rebounds.

But the Rebels weren't totally content with their effort. They shot only .571 (12 of 21) from the foul line and committed a season-high 34 turnovers.

"We can do more," said Froehlich, who lost the ball a game-high eight times. "The turnovers show we still struggled a little bit. We can do better."

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