Monday, February 23, 1998
Wahine denied
Pacific perfection
Rice deals Hawaii its only loss
Star-Bulletin staff
in the Pacific Division and ends UH's
19-game winning streakOne month ago yesterday, Marla Brumfield experienced a horrendous night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Yesterday, the 5-foot-9 sophomore guard made life miserable for the University of Hawaii women's basketball team.
A Houston product, Brumfield scored a career-high 33 points to spark Rice to a 76-71 upset of the No. 15 Wahine in a Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division finale at Autry Court on the Rice campus in Houston.
With a school-record women's crowd of 3,705, the Owls secured second place in the division and a first-round bye in the WAC Tournament, March 2-7 in Las Vegas.
The Wahine clinched the division's No. 1 seed Feb. 14.
The victory was Rice's 15th in a row at home over two seasons and ended Hawaii's 19-game winning streak.
In a 24-point loss to UH on Jan. 22, Brumfield was 2-for-16 from the field and scored just seven points. Yesterday, she was 13-for-18 from the field, had five assists, six steals and four rebounds.
"She played a heads-up game. We used the matchup zone and man against her and I thought we did a pretty good job," UH head coach Vince Goo said. "We contested her shots, but she was on fire."
The Wahine (23-2 overall, 13-1 conference) led five times in the tightly contested game, but by only a point each time.
The biggest Rice lead was nine (30-21) with 6:51 left in the first half. With Nani Cockett scoring five of her 26 points, UH went on a 13-5 run to trail by one, 35-34, at the half.
The only Wahine leads in the second half came on a Cockett jumper (42-41 with 16:20 to play) and on two free throws by the senior guard (46-45 with 14:18 left).
But Brumfield got her own rebound after a missed free throw and scored on a layup six seconds later to put the Owls ahead for good.
The Wahine cut the Owls lead to one twice in the final four minutes, but Brumfield scored six of the final eight Rice points to keep UH at bay.
Kirra Jordan scored 15 points for the Owls (18-7, 11-3).
Rice forced 24 Wahine turnovers, which helped negate UH's 57 percent shooting from the floor and 31-24 rebound advantage.
"We could have executed a little better on offense," Goo said. "They used half-court man pressure and we put the ball on the floor and went to the basket, but . . .
The Wahine managed just six assists in the game, a season low.
UH closes the regular season with a crossover matchup at Nevada-Las Vegas on Thursday.
"The ladies put together a 19-game winning streak. This is their first loss in three months and they are not used to losing. They are disappointed," Goo said.
"We have to turn it into a positive. I think it will help our focus at practice tomorrow and Wednesday. Now what we need is a four-game winning streak -- UNLV and three in the WAC Tournament."
Kylie Page, who had a game-high 10 rebounds, followed Cockett with 15 points. Raylene Howard scored 12 and Ashby had 10.
Cockett dislocated the pinkie finger on her left hand, but popped it back in and kept playing.
The University of Hawaii has won 23 or more games six times in Vince Goo's 11 years as head coach: A Coup under Goo
1992-93: 28-4
*Current season; not completed
Box Score
At Houston
Wahine (23-2 overall; 13-1 WAC)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Page 39 5 9 5 7 10 1 15 Howard 40 6 11 0 0 6 2 12 Ashby 25 3 5 4 4 5 3 10 Cockett 40 10 16 5 9 3 3 26 Itoman 38 2 5 0 0 3 3 4 Forsberg 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Liu 10 1 1 2 2 1 1 4 Wautlet 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Team 0 3 Totals 200 27 47 16 22 31 13 71Owls (18-7 overall; 11-3 WAC)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Cafagna 32 2 5 3 4 5 2 8 Jordan 35 7 13 1 1 4 3 15 Smith 16 1 2 2 2 3 4 4 Wilson 20 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 Brumfield 35 13 18 6 9 4 3 33 Ludwig 19 1 6 0 0 1 2 2 Cafferty 14 1 3 0 0 0 0 3 Koy 16 2 2 1 2 2 1 15 Hamilton 13 3 6 0 0 2 3 6 Team 1 Totals 200 30 56 13 18 24 20 76Halftime score--Rice 35, Hawaii 34.3-point goals--UH 1-6 (Cockett 1-2, Itoman 0-2, Page 0-2), Rice 3-7 (Cafagna 1-1, Brumfield 1-1, Cafferty 1-2, Ludwig 0-3).
Assists--UH 6 (Cockett 2, Itoman 2, Ashby 1, Howard 1), Rice 13 (Brumfield 5). Turnovers--UH 24 (Cockett 6, Page 5, Howard 5, Ashby 3, Itoman 3, Forsberg 1, Wautlet 1), Tulsa 18 (Wilson, Brumfield 5). Steals--UH 9 (Cockett 7, Page 1, Itoman 1), Rice 15 (Brumfield 6). Blocked shots--UH 0, Rice 3 (Cafagna, Wilson, Brumfield 1).
Technicals--None.
A--3,704. Officials: Barlow, Strong, Myles.
1997-98 Wahine Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
