Lady Rebels looking to snap two-game skid

The UNLV women's basketball team will attempt to end a two-game Western Athletic Conference losing streak when it hosts Southern Methodist University tonight at 7:35 in Lied Gymnasium.

After winning four straight games at home in December, the Lady Rebels opened conference play with a win on the road at Air Force, but dropped its past two conference games away from the Lied.

"It's a good thing we're home because we're getting ready for SMU and TCU -- two of the top teams in the conference," UNLV head coach Regina Miller said. "There are no cakewalks for us.

"We're trying to help the players to understand to keep focused that you're the underdog, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose."

UNLV brings a 9-5 overall record and 1-2 conference mark into tonight's contest against the Mustangs (7-8, 2-1). After showing steady improvement prior to opening conference play, the Lady Rebels have struggled on defense and at the guard positions the past two games, Miller said.

"We played with effort, but we didn't do a lot of things well," Miller said of the losses at Rice and Tulsa. "Our execution really wasn't what it should have been.

"Last week, with our lack of execution, I felt like we took a couple of steps backward. We have to recognize it happened and take steps to improve it."

UNLV will receive some help at the point guard position tonight with the return of senior Karen Webster, who has missed the past month with a severe ankle sprain.

Miller said UNLV will need to have one of its better defensive performances to knock off the Mustangs, who boast a strong inside game.

"I think SMU is a well-balanced team," Miller said. "Their post players have done a good job as far as making the plays inside and they're quick on the perimeter.

"One thing we're going to do is zone them a bit and if they're going to beat us, they're going to have to beat us outside. We have won some games because we have defended well and on the road, we didn't defend well."

Freshman guard/forward Linda Froehlich continues to lead the Lady Rebels in scoring (23.1 points a game) and rebounding (9.6 per game). Senior guard Kristen Pool (10.2) is the only other UNLV player averaging in double figures in scoring.

How the Lady Rebels play in the month of January could go a long way toward determining whether the team qualifies for the WAC Tournament, to be played March 1-6 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"I talked to the team about January being a big push month because we have so many conference games on the road -- six of our eight conference games are away," Miller said. "Our goal is to make the conference tournament and we know where we have to finish to do that.

"If we play to our capabilities, we'll have a chance (of making the WAC Tournament). I think if we do play to our capabilities, we have a chance in every ballgame we play."

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