UNLV REBELS

Nov. 14, 2009

LAS VEGAS -

UNLV game notes vs. Nebraska

Coming off a strong finish on Friday night to win their season-opener, the Lady Rebels return to Las Vegas for their home opener on Sunday against Nebraska at 2 pm in the Cox Pavilion. This is the fourth meeting between the two schools, and UNLV has won all four meetings, though the last time the teams played was in the 1982-83 season.

One key to the Lady Rebels play this year will to be to find new scorers, and that’s something that was not a problem on Friday night against Southern Utah, as three of the four players in double-figures were newcomers. Most notably, UNLV’s two sophomore transfer centers, who have the job of replacing three-time all-MWC center Shamela Hampton, had an impressive debut, combining for 25 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks while shooting a combined 12-of-17 from the floor.

The Lady Rebels are 28-7 all-time in home-openers, though this is only the second home opener to be played in the Cox Pavilion in the past five years. The other contest was last year’s 92-72 victory over Sacramento State in Kathy Olivier’s first game as the Lady Rebels’ head coach.
 
Players To Watch...
With the graduation of five seniors and the addition of seven newcomers, it may take some time to see who will step up this season for the Lady Rebels, but there is little doubt the following three will be among the leaders. First is sophomore forward Jamie Smith, by far the most versatile player for UNLV as she became the first ever Lady Rebel to be named MWC Freshman of the Year last season. She was the top freshman rebounder in the nation at 9.5 rpg, and also set new UNLV and MWC freshman records for both total rebounds (304) and double-doubles (13) on the season.

Junior guard Erica Helms returns for her second season as the starting point guard, and is the second double-figure scorer for UNLV after posting 10.3 points per game. She also led the squad with 91 assists and was deadly from three-point range, making 35.5% of her attempts and knocking down a team-best 43 treys. 

Joining her in the backcourt is classmate India Chaney, who made a total of 13 starts last year, including all three games in UNLV’s run to the MWC semifinals. Chaney was fourth on the team in scoring last year with 7.3 points, and also added 50 assists and 30 steals.

Scouting Nebraska...
The Huskers are coming off a season in which they finished 15-15 yet still earned a sixth straight postseason trip, as they lost in the first round of the WNIT last year. Nebraska is expected to challenge for another postseason berth in 2009-10, as the team is receiving votes in the AP Top 25 and was picked sixth in the Big 12 preseason poll.

Nebraska rolled to an easy 86-62 victory over Davidson in its home opener on Friday, as the Huskers jumped out to a 22-6 lead, and never let the Wildcats threaten. Senior forward Kelsey Griffin paced the team with 13 points and seven rebounds, while senior forward Cory Montgomery added 11 points and Nicole Neals posted 12 points off the bench. Nebraska held a +12 advantage on the boards, and forced 25 turnovers, but also turned the ball of 25 times themselves as well. The Huskers also shot well in their opener, knocking down 45.6% of their attempts, while allowing Davidson to make 40.7% from the field.