Wahine complete
By Al Chase
first-round WAC sweep
Star-BulletinHawaii's hurricane season is supposed to be over. But, the University of Hawaii Wahine weathered one Saturday night to complete a first-round sweep of Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division opponents.
The 88-60 victory came in one of the more physical games of the season in front of the third largest crowd (2,490) in Wahine history.
A fired up Tulsa Golden Hurricane exhibited quickness, lots of hustle and adroit passing to play the Wahine even for the first 16 minutes at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"The key in the first half was Tulsa played awfully hard. I think they outplayed us," UH head coach Vince Goo said. "In the second half, we changed our scheme a little bit and didn't allow the dribble penetration as much."
The Wahine (16-1 overall, 7-0 conference) started to pull away late in the first half with a 14-5 run.
Raylene Howard started the spurt with two free throws. Brandi Ashby followed with a short jumper, Nani Cockett hit a 3-pointer and Kylie Page canned a jumper. Cockett hit another jumper and Page sank a 3-pointer.
Tulsa (7-10, 3-4) was scoreless in that three-minute span and a 33-33 tie became a 47-33 UH lead.
The Wahine cemented control of the game early in the second half. Five of their first seven baskets were from 3-point territory, two each by Page and Cockett.
"I think we took them a little too lightly. It was similar to what happened at TCU after we played SMU," said Page who scored 21 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
"We have to view every team we play as better than us. That's when we play our best when we know there is competition on the floor for us."
Raylene Howard (16 points) said the Golden Hurricane really challenged the Wahine. She didn't think the Wahine took them lightly, but could have given them more respect.
Cockett led the Wahine with 26 points and spent the final six minutes on the bench with an ice pack on her left wrist.
"I'm not sure when I hurt it. It doesn't bother me and the ice is just a precaution." she said.
Brandi Ashby also hit double figures with 11 points.
"Brandi is kind of hidden out there because she's not hitting the 3 or making spectacular plays. But she's getting the rebounds and playing good defense," Goo said.
"The same with BJ (Itoman). She had only one turnover handling the ball against that kind of pressure. They pick everybody up."
NEXT: The Wahine take their 12-game winning streak to California for games at Fresno State Thursday, San Jose State Saturday and San Diego State Feb. 3.
STANDINGS
WAC women
Pacific Division
Conference Overall W L Pct. W L Pct. Hawaii 7 0 1.000 16 1 .941 So. Methodist 6 1 .857 14 4 .778 Rice 3 3 .500 10 6 .625 Texas Christian 3 4 .429 12 6 .667 Fresno State 3 4 .429 8 10 .444 Tulsa 3 4 .429 7 10 .412 San Diego State 2 4 .333 6 9 .400 San Jose State 0 7 .000 4 15 .211
Conference Overall W L Pct. W L Pct. Utah 7 0 1.000 16 0 1.000 Colorado State 5 2 .714 15 3 .833 New Mexico 5 2 .714 15 4 .789 Texas-El Paso 5 2 .714 10 7 .588 Brigham Young 3 4 .429 8 9 .471 Wyoming 2 5 .289 6 11 .353 Nevada-Las Vegas 1 8 .111 2 16 .111 Air Force 0 7 .000 5 12 .294Hawaii 88, Tulsa 60
SMU 74, TCU 68
BYU 75, Air Force 80
Utah 75, UNLV 49
Colorado State 99, Wyoming 87
Fresno State 81, San Jose State 66
New Mexico 61, UTEP 56
Rice at San Diego State (sore unavailable)
Hawaii at Fresno State, 5 p.m.
BYU at UTEP
Colorado State at UNLV
SMU at Tulsa
TCU at Rice
Utah at New Mexico
Wyoming at Air Force
San Diego State at San Jose State
Hawaii at San Jose State, 5 p.m.
Colorado State at Air Force
SMU at Rice
TCU at Tulsa
Utah at UTEP
BYU at New Mexico
Wyoming at UNLV
San Diego State at Fresno State
1997-98 Wahine Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
