Tuesday, March 3, 1998
The UH women finally know
By Al Chase
their WAC Tournament
quarterfinal foe
Star-BulletinLAS VEGAS -- Mention the University of Hawaii Wahine to the New Mexico Lobos and without hesitation the names of Nani Cockett and BJ Itoman spring forth quickly in their replies.
"Nani is an awesome player and she has gotten better this year. We'll have to play great defense against her," said Katie Kern, a 6-foot-2 center for the Lobos.
Kern scored 15 points and led New Mexico with seven rebounds in its 64-54 victory over Tulsa in a Western Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal game yesterday.
It took almost two minutes for either team to score. UNM's Abby Garchek broke the ice with a jumper at 18:12. The 6-foot senior forward led the Lobos with 18 points and had six rebounds.
The Golden Hurricane took their only lead, 11-10, on two free throws by Kasie Pittman at 10:44, but Garchek connected on a 3-pointer 17 seconds later. The Lobos (23-6) never trailed after that, nor could they shake the Golden Hurricane.
The 10-point halftime lead UNM enjoyed turned out to be the final margin. Tulsa (9-18) closed to within five points twice in the second half, the last time with 4:08 left. However, the Lobos hit 8-of-10 free throws in the final two minutes to preserve the victory.
"I thought we closed out the game well," UNM head coach Don Flanagan said. "We didn't shoot well and we had a problem with fouls early. It wasn't our best effort and I think we can play better."
The Lobos hit 36 percent from the field in the first half and 37 percent in the second half. What helped turn the game in UNM's favor was the disparity in turnovers (13 for UNM, 27 for Tulsa).
"UNM is a little more mature and very steady this year. They are not flashy and they run their offensive patterns well," UH head coach Vince Goo said.
The Lobos were successful getting the ball inside with lob passes to Kerns, Garchek and 6-0 freshman forward Jennifer Williams before she got into foul trouble. Point guard Tamika Stukes did a good job of running the Lobos' half-court game. Off guard Nikki Heckroth topped UNM with five assists.
LAS VEGAS -- With Hawaii's first game in the Western Athletic Conference's women's basketball tournament 24 hours away, head coach Vince Goo declared the Wahine "ready to go." UH women ‘ready to go’
By Al Chase
Star-BulletinStarters Brandi Ashby and BJ Itoman have conquered their colds. Itoman says her sprained ankle is fine. WAC Pacific Division Player of the Year Nani Cockett says her two pinkie fingers and her sprained ankle are no problem.
THINKING AHEAD: Five WAC teams have 20 or more victories and Rice could reach that plateau tomorrow. All are chasing NCAA tournament bids.
Southern Methodist head coach Rhona Rhompola said after the Mustangs beat Wyoming yesterday, "We had to win this one if we wanted any chance to go to the NCAAs, and 21 wins should go a long way toward doing that."
New Mexico head coach Don Flanagan had a slightly different view.
"I would never feel sure about getting a tournament bid unless we won the WAC," he said.
Flanagan took the words right out of vince Goo's mouth.
PER DIEM: Each member of the official Wahine party receives $28 per day for meals. The WAC pays for the rooms. During the regular season the UH players received $60 per day, but the room (two players per room) fee came out of that allowance.
"Stukes is improved, much more under control and runs the offense better than last year," said Itoman, the Wahine's point guard.
"I think Stukes and BJ is going to be a great matchup," Cockett said. "Their whole starting five is back even though they aren't all starting. We're really concerned with Garchek (20.1 points per game).
"This is not going to be a rollover game. We have to come fully prepared to play or we're going to lose."
"We have to make it hard for them to get the ball inside," said UH's Kylie Page.
"I think we'll have to play good defense, let our defense create our offense. That's one of our main concepts," Itoman said.
"We're going to try and pressure on defense and get the turnovers," Goo said. "The team that executes its offense well has the advantage. I'm sure it's the same for them."
The matchups in the front court may favor the Lobos in terms of size, but the No. 16 Wahine probably have the edge in quickness.
Both teams prefer the power game. A key will be which team defends best without getting into foul trouble. If the perimeter game is necessary, UH hit 38 percent of its 3-point attempts this season, UNM 32 percent.
One Lobo who did not play yesterday was starting off-guard Sonya Bryant. She has missed three games with a foot injury and is questionable.
"Hawaii may be more rested, but we've played a game and won't have the jitters (like today) come Wednesday," Kern said.
"I don't expect our team will be bothered by jitters," UH co-captain Brandi Ashby said.
WAC women
Yesterday: SMU 69, Wyoming 55 New Mexico 64, Tulsa 54 Texas-El Paso 63, TCU 49 BYU 71, Fresno State 67
1997-98 Wahine Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
