HOME PAGE
|
Friday, February 04, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Lady Rebels fall to Rams on final shot
By Mark Anderson
Review-Journal
Somehow, in the face of unbelievable shooting by Colorado State, UNLV managed to create some drama Thursday night.
Then the Lady Rebels did something you can't do against a hot-shooting team. They gave the Rams a final possession.
Sure enough, Colorado State capitalized. Angie Gorton, who went 10-for-13 and scored 21 points, drove for a layup with 1.5 seconds left to beat UNLV 81-79 before an announced crowd of 713 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
"They couldn't miss," UNLV coach Regina Miller said. "We'd think we'd have them, and they'd hit a shot with 2 seconds on the (shot) clock. They probably played as well against us tonight (as any team)."
Colorado State (15-4 overall, 5-1 in the Mountain West Conference) played as well as it has all season. The Rams made 66 percent of their shots, far better than their previous season high of 54.8 percent in a 102-69 victory over Vermont on Nov. 26.
The Rams were 10 of 18 from the 3-point line, and they made many shots with UNLV players on top of them.
"We played against a good team," said UNLV guard Constance Jinks, who had 19 points and seven rebounds. "They had to step up against us. It was a tough loss, but we've just got to deal with it and step up Saturday and play hard against Wyoming.
"Everyone raises their level to play us because they know UNLV is a tough team. We've got to pull through and show we're a tough team."
The Lady Rebels, comprised mostly of freshmen and sophomores, dropped to 10-9 and 2-4.
"One day, our time is going to come," said UNLV sophomore forward Linda Frohlich, who scored 21 points. "There must be a reason why we're losing. Today was just unfortunate."
It was unfortunate for UNLV that its defense faced a hot-shooting team. Don't, however, blame the defense for the loss.
In fact, defense almost won the game. The Lady Rebels trailed by 10 points with 15:05 left when Miller went to a full-court press that brought them back.
And it was defense that forced 25 turnovers to keep UNLV close in a game that could have been a rout, giving the Lady Rebels a 28-12 advantage on points off turnovers.
"We certainly didn't lose this game because we hurt ourselves tonight," Miller said.
UNLV actually had a chance to win or force overtime.
Down 79-77 with 32.4 seconds left, UNLV got the ball. The Lady Rebels were supposed to run a play for Frohlich. If she wasn't open, Jinks' job was to create something. But UNLV ran the play too early, and Jinks got fouled while driving with 18.1 seconds remaining. She made the field goal, but the officials ruled the foul occurred before the act of shooting.
"I think it should've been continuation," Miller said. "She was in the act of shooting."
Nevertheless, Jinks made both free throws to set up the final play for Gorton.
Gorton made the shot. She seemed to make everything.
"Everything," Miller said.
E-mail this story to a friend:
Give us your FEEDBACK on this or any story.
BEST OF LAS VEGAS
Fill out our Online Readers' Poll
|
Printable version of this story
|
