Wahine ranked
23rd by AP

It has been four years
since they were in the media poll

Star-Bulletin staff

The University of Hawaii women's basketball team made its first appearance in the Associated Press Top 25 in more than four years yesterday.

Hawaii (16-1), which has lost only to Iowa State, made the AP Top 25 for the first time since the week of Jan. 4, 1994, when it was 21st. The Rainbow Wahine, who have won 12 straight since their loss, are ranked 23rd.

"I think it's great recognition for our players and the program," said Wahine head coach Vince Goo, whose team broke into the USA Today/CNN coaches' poll last week and moved up to No. 21 yesterday.

"We've moved up steadily every week. Now we have to remember what got us to 16-1 and don't lose focus."

Hawaii also received good news yesterday when senior guard Nani Cockett was named the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division player of the week.

Cockett led the Wahine to a pair of victories last week, averaging 24.5 points per game.

The Wahine left this morning on a road trip that begins at Fresno State on Thursday. They also play at San Jose State on Saturday and at San Diego State on Feb. 4.

Goo said being ranked won't change how his team prepares.

"We go into every game thinking we're the better team and the other team is going to have its best game of the year," he said. "We just have to be ready."

The Wahine, who drew a record 2,590 fans to last Saturday's win over Tulsa, have only three home games remaining: Feb. 7 against UNLV, Feb. 12 against Texas Christian, and Feb. 14 against Southern Methodist.

"Eight years ago, we had crowds of 150 to 200 people," Goo said. "The program has really grown. We're on the brink of being perhaps the best team we've ever had."

AP Women’s Top 25 First-place votes in parentheses Record Pts Pvs 1. Tennessee (39) 21-0 975 1 2. Connecticut 19-1 933 3 3. Old Dominion 16-1 900 2 4. Louisiana Tech 15-3 832 4 5. Texas Tech 13-3 798 5 6. North Carolina 15-4 679 11 tie. Vanderbilt 14-3 679 9 8. Illinois 14-5 656 6 9. Stanford 10-5 633 13 10. Arizona 12-4 621 7 11. Utah 16-0 563 14 12. N. Carolina St. 16-3 525 8 13. Duke 14-5 452 24 14. Florida 14-5 442 10 15. W. Kentucky 16-5 386 16 16. Virginia 13-4 384 11 17. Georgia 13-5 340 18 18. Washington 12-4 273 15 19. Fla. International 16-1 248 22 20. Wisconsin 15-6 245 17 21. Clemson 15-4 191 19 22. Stephen F.Austin 15-2 161 25 23. Hawaii 16-1 137 -- 24. Iowa St. 16-3 100 -- 25. SW Missouri St. 13-3 98 20 Others receiving votes: Marquette 83, Nebraska 81, Purdue 68, Drake 51, Memphis 27, Auburn 26, Arkansas 18, Colorado St. 11, Oregon 11, Iowa 9, Tulane 9, Indiana 8, Notre Dame 6, Penn St. 5, Alabama 3, LSU 3, Liberty 3, Oklahoma St. 1, Youngstown St. 1.

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1997-98 Wahine Basketball Schedule

http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu