Friday, February 27, 1998
UH pulls away from UNLV
From staff & wire reports
in its regular-season finaleLAS VEGAS -- They don't do it often, but when the Wahine apply full-court pressure, opponents usually wilt.
Such was the case last night.
Unable to shake a fired-up Nevada-Las Vegas squad playing its final game of the season, the University of Hawaii women's basketball team turned up the heat five minutes into the second half.
The pressure resulted in several UNLV turnovers over the next five minutes, and the Wahine turned a two-point deficit (49-47) into a 14-point lead, 67-53.
Kylie Page, who scored a career-high 30 points, put UH ahead, 50-49, with a 3-pointer, and Nani Cockett scored 12 of her game-high 31 points in the 20-4 run as Hawaii pulled away to an 87-70 victory in the Western Athletic Conference crossover game.
No. 19 UH (24-2 overall, 13-1 conference) maintained control the remainder of the game as UNLV never drew closer than nine points after the UH surge.
Guilty of sloppy play much of the first half (17 turnovers), the Wahine responded to head coach Vince Goo's booming halftime challenge. They were charged with just four turnovers in the second half.
The Lady Rebels (4-22, 3-11) led early, 8-3, but Page's first 3-pointer at 15:58 gave the Wahine the lead, one that fluctuated from four to nine points until halftime.
"Offensively in the first half we let them (the Wahine) go freelance," Goo said. "We weren't making good passes, we weren't making good reads and we weren't playing very well without the ball. It was like one person had the ball and the other four were standing around.
"In the second half we went to our half-court offense more. It's a little more deliberate and we executed better and cut down on the turnovers."
George Wolfe, Hawaii's associate women's basketball coach, has applied for the head job at UNLV, according to a report in today's Las Vegas Sun. UH's Wolfe reportedly
applies for UNLV jobAccording to the Sun story, Wolfe said, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested."
"It would be a good job. UNLV is well-respected. I know it's a wide-open field and I'm not currently a head coach, but I've been coaching for 21 years. And I hope to get a look."
According to the Sun, UH head coach Vince Goo said, "I'm waiting for my administration to get back to me regarding a new contract."
According to the story, Goo hasn't applied for the job.
"I'm 12th of 16 in WAC salary. Right now, no, I haven't applied," said Goo, in the second year of a three-year contract. "But let me emphasize right now, I'm saying no to your question because I haven't yet applied."
Al Chase, Star-Bulletin Page was 9-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, and was 9-for-10 on free throws.
Raylene Howard also was in double figures with 16 points.
Liz Wolfe paced the Lady Rebels with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Amy Wunderlich also recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
UNLV outrebounded UH, 46-28, mainly due to a 24-8 advantage in offensive rebounds. But the Lady Rebels also committed 30 turnovers.
The Wahine have today off, then head back to practice tomorrow for an hour of shooting and conditioning followed by an hour in the weight room as preparation begins for next week's WAC Tournament.
UNBELIEVABLE: According to Goo, Cockett deflected 17 passes despite playing on a sprained right ankle and having each pinkie taped to the next finger.Nani Cockett deflected an astounding 17 passes last night, according to UH coaches. Her overall performance was equally as impressive: The deflector
Points: 31
"She was playing with four fingers on each hand out there, which is not easy, especially on the shooting hand," Goo said.
The stat doesn't appear in the box score, but is kept by Wahine coaches.
Box Score
At Las Vegas
Wahine (24-2 overall; 13-1 WAC)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Page 37 9 12 9 10 7 3 30 Howard 36 6 10 4 5 2 2 16 Ashby 33 2 6 2 4 7 2 6 Cockett 38 10 18 10 11 5 1 31 Itoman 35 0 6 2 2 3 4 2 Forsberg 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Kotilainen 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lee 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 2 Liu 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 Evers 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wautlet 6 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 Team 0 1 Totals 200 27 54 29 34 28 15 87Lady Rebels (4-23 overall; 3-11 WAC)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Wunderlich 29 5 7 1 2 11 4 11 Strambler 33 4 7 2 2 1 1 10 Wolfe 27 8 14 5 6 14 5 21 Girard 31 5 19 0 0 7 4 10 Gossett 35 5 16 2 2 4 4 12 Pool 12 0 2 2 2 1 0 2 Webster 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Dye 21 1 5 2 4 3 3 4 Ingalls 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Team 5 Totals 200 28 70 14 18 46 23 70Halftime score--Hawaii 37, UNLV 33.3-point goals--UH 4-8 (Cockett 1-1, Page 3-4, Howard 0-1, Itoman 0-2), UNLV 0-5. Assists--UH 15 (Itoman 6, Ashby 2, Howard 2, Cockett 2, Page 1, Forsberg 1, Evers 1), UNLV 17. Turnovers--UH 21 (Page 4, Itoman 4, Cockett 3, Ashby 3, Forsberg 3, Howard 2, Liu 1, Wautlet 1), UNLV 30. Steals--UH 13 (Cockett 4, Page 4, Ashby 3, Howard 1, Itoman 1), UNLV 9. Blocked shots--UH 5 (Ashby 3, Cockett 2), UNLV 1. Technicals--Hawaii bench.
1997-98 Wahine Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
