Regina Miller UNLV women's basketball coach has confident team going into MWC play

There was something different about Regina Miller at practice on Friday.

For the first time in a long while, the UNLV women's basketball coach wore the slightest of grins as she watched her team running drills in preparation for league play.

The Lady Rebels had upset 19th-ranked DePaul 89-71 the night before, inspiring the coach to believe she could be looking at something more than a rebuilding season.

The timing could not have been better.

UNLV (6-6) will open Mountain West Conference play Wednesday at Texas Christian with momentum on its side.

"(Beating DePaul) was definitely a big confidence builder," Miller said. "It shows we can compete with the top teams in our league. I just hope it can continue. We don't want to get complacent. We've got to stay hungry and use that win as an opportunity to propel our season forward."

Sophomore guard Brittany Halberg had 21 points and eight assists against DePaul to lead five UNLV players in double figures.

"(The win) was huge," said Halberg, whose team also beat UNR on Saturday. "We proved to a lot of people that we're better than the way we've played the last few games. We know we can do it now, so there's no excuses."

Halberg will be among Miller's go-to players as league play begins, but the coach will have plenty of other weapons. Senior guard/forward Sequoia Holmes leads the team with 15.3 points and six rebounds per game. Sophomore center Shamela Hampton scored 30 points Saturday to raise her average to 12.5 points, and she also averages 5.9 rebounds.

Miller said Holmes, a graduate of Mojave High School, finally is beginning to play to her potential.

"If she plays consistently every game, we're going to be a tough team to beat," said Miller.

Holmes certainly will be a key to league success, but no single player can take all the blame for the Lady Rebels' slow start. Before the season, senior center Tiffani Burries was declared out for the year with a shoulder injury. Freshman backup center Samantha Stickler and senior guard Kameca Simmons both missed the first several games with injuries and senior forward Kisha Lee was suspended for two games last month.

Those setbacks contributed to a 2-4 start, and the tailspin seemed out of control after UNLV fell to lowly Southern Utah on Dec. 2. But the team has battled through the challenging times, and Miller believes her squad still has a chance of winning the Mountain West.

"We've asked people with very little experience to play like seniors," Miller said. "We've dealt with a lot of adversity, and that's what any good team does."

Halberg said the team has turned a corner.

"We've been very frustrated," she said. "But it feels so much better to win. We just have to keep playing our best every night."

New Mexico will be the team to beat in the Mountain West. The Lobos, who will host UNLV on Jan. 27, are ranked 22nd and have a 10-3 record. But Wyoming (9-3) and Brigham Young (9-4), who open league play this week, also look like contenders.

For the moment, Miller is focused on TCU (9-4).

"All of our conference is going to be competitive," she said. "We'll just have to take one game at a time. It's too early to talk about championships, but we're obviously working toward that."

The Lady Rebels will return home Saturday to play San Diego State at 1 p.m. at Cox Pavilion.