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UNLV Faces Boise State in First Round of Lady Rebel Round Up |
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009 LAS VEGAS -UNLV opens play in the Lady Rebel Round-Up this weekend looking for its first home victory of the season, as the Lady Rebs will take on Boise State in the first round of the tournament on Saturday at 2 pm in the Cox Pavilion. Bradley and Washington State will be in the day's second game at 4:30 pm, with the consolation (1 pm) and championship game (3 pm) set for Sunday.
The Lady Rebs will have a tough challenge in their attempt to take down the Broncos, who enter the weekend 5-0 and have won four games at double-digits. There is a big difference in the quality of teams both teams have played though, as none of the opponents BSU has played is above .500 this year. UNLV's two losses however are to a pair of undefeated teams, No. 4 UNC (4-0) and Nebraska (4-0), and the Huskers are receiving votes in both top-25 polls. UNLV hopes to keep the momentum going from its close loss to the fourth-ranked Tar Heels, as the game was as close as five points several times in the final five minutes.
UNLV is also looking to claim its first tournament championship since winning the 2005 Lady Rebel Shootout with a win over Tennessee Tech in the championship game on Thanksgiving weekend. The Lady Rebels played in one championship game last year, dropping an 88-73 contest to No. 22 Oklahoma State on Dec. 20 in the Desert Draw championship.
Players To Watch...
Sophomore forward Jamie Smith has taken over leadership of the team after being named MWC Freshman of the Year in 2008-09. Once again leading the league in rebounding with 12.8 rpg (11th nationally), Smith is tied for 13th in scoring (11.8 ppg), tied for sixth in blocks (1.5 bpg) and is fourth in free throw percentage (91.7%).
The top scoring threat so far in 2009-10 is freshman guard Kelli Thompson. She is the only player to post double figures in every game and her 16.0 ppg average is third in the league, the best of any first-year player. She's also shooting 44.8% (13-of-29) from three-point range to rank 11th, while her 3.3 treys per game is tops in the MWC. Thompson also ranks in the top 15 in assists (tied 13th, 2.8 apg), steals (tied 11th, 2.0 spg) and blocks (tied 14th, 08. bpg) this season.
Junior guard Erica Helms returns for her second year as the starting point guard and is posting 12.0 points (tied for 11th) and 4.0 assists (tied for 5th) per game. She has recorded three steals in all four games this year and stands tied for third in the conference.
Scouting Boise State...
Boise State has gotten out to a hot start in 2009-10, winning five straight, four of them by double-digits, including Tuesday night's 24-point win at Utah Valley. However, of the four Division I teams the Broncos have played this year, none of them are currently over .500. Saturday's game against UNLV will be their third straight on the road after opening up with home wins over Western Oregon, Weber State and Portland State.
In the 79-55 win over Utah Valley, the Broncos jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead after hitting 7-of-13 from downtown in the first 20 minutes. BSU would shoot 43.8% for the game and held a 25-6 edge on points off turnovers. Tasha Harris led the way with 18 points, and was followed by Julia Marshall with 10.
Leading the team this year is Harris with 18.4 ppg, while Jessica Van Hoogen is posting 13.6 ppg and Janie Bos is grabbing 6.8 rpg. The Broncos are averaging 77.8 points per game while shooting 43.2% from the floor, and have a +8.0 rebound margin and a +5.6 turnover margin in 2009-10.
-UNLV- |
