Wednesday, February 25, 1998
UH has a cause
vs. Lady Rebels
Hawaii hopes to rebound
By Al Chase
tomorrow against UNLV
Star-BulletinThe University of Hawaii women's basketball team will try to close out the season with a victory when the Wahine play Nevada-Las Vegas tomorrow in the city of lights and glitter.
The game is at the Thomas & Mack Center, only the Lady Rebels' second game this season at the site of next week's Western Athletic Conference women's tournament.
UH head coach Vince Goo said playing at the Thomas & Mack Center could be a huge advantage for the 19th-ranked Wahine (23-2 overall, 13-1 conference) next week because no other WAC Tournament team has played there this season.
After a travel day Monday, the Wahine returned to practice yesterday and went through a two-hour session that Goo termed "a killer."
"We tried to emphasize the good things and work on the things we didn't do well in the last game (a 76-71 loss to Rice ending UH's 19-game winning streak)," Goo said. "We especially worked on the defensive things we didn't do well, the things we try to take away from an opponent."
"Whenever we don't perform well, it is my philosophy that we just didn't do a good job coaching in preparing them for the game. I told the players to bear with us. They worked hard today."
Physically, the Wahine are nicked. Senior shooting guard Nani Cockett sprained her right ankle in practice yesterday, senior center Brandi Ashby is fighting a bad cold and junior point guard BJ Itoman is recovering from a cold, but can't shake the cough and has difficulty breathing.
"The only one without an ice pack after practice was Raylene Howard," Goo said.
But the Wahine demanded that a weight room be available after practice for another hour's work.
"For 19 straight games they came in first. The 20th game they came in second and they don't like it. They didn't verbalize it, but you could see it in their faces," Goo said. "Most teams would head back to the hotel after a two-hour practice, but to a person, they made sure they could lift."
The crossover game, which doesn't count in the WAC standings, will be the last of the season for UNLV (4-22, 3-11). But it's Senior Night for the Lady Rebels and they will want to go out on a winning note.
UNLV challenged UH with full-court pressure and hustle in the first half at the Stan Sheriff Center Feb. 7, and the Wahine can expect more of the same tomorrow.
Goo expects to go with his same starting five: Cockett (19.7 points per game) and Itoman (7.9) at guards, Kylie Page (17.9) and Howard (16.8) at forwards and Ashby (10.0) at center.
Asked about Cockett's status for tomorrow's game, Goo said, "If she has her way, she'll play."
In the latest NCAA statistics, Hawaii is 14th in scoring offense (80.3 points per game), Page is third in 3-point field-goal percentage (47.0) and Cockett is tied for 38th in scoring average.
Hawaii has won the last six games between the schools, but trails in the all-time series, 12-28.
Run-in with the Lady Rebels
Tomorrow: Hawaii at Nevada-Las Vegas, 3 p.m.
1997-98 Wahine Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
