Thursday, November 26, 1998

Wahine have
work cut out

Star-Bulletin staff

It doesn't get any easier for the Hawaii women's basketball team.

After capturing the Hawaiian Regent Classic title with a victory over then-17th ranked Kansas Sunday night, the Wahine find themselves surrounded by three nationally ranked teams competing in this weekend's Rainbow Wahine Classic.

No. 5 North Carolina, No. 12 UCLA and No. 24 Nebraska come to town for the three-day, eight-team tournament.

Those three teams, along with St. John's, are in the bracket opposite Hawaii, but that doesn't mean the Wahine will have a cakewalk to the title game, coach Vince Goo said yesterday before practice.

First-round opponent Illinois State brings plenty of firepower, especially senior guard Jenny Schmidt, who was the No. 2 3-point shooter in the country last season. Schmidt poured in 22 points in the Redbirds' 88-67 victory over Western Illinois Monday night.

"I'm not sure if we're going to go man or if we're going zone," Goo said of his choice of defense. "We'll try to put some height on her and then some speed on her," indicating he's likely to mix and match his defenses and his defenders.

Offensively, the Wahine will continue to count on scoring punch from point forward Raylene Howard, who was the most valuable player of last week's tournament and also was the player of the week in the Western Athletic Conference's Pacific Division. Howard is averaging 22.3 points a game on 59 percent shooting.

"She's going to be a marked person now," Goo said. "People are going to be looking at the stat sheets. But she knows the game very well. She knows how to control her body, play to her strengths and avoid her weaknesses."

Goo said forward Hedy Liu, who scored a career-high 16 points against UMass Satuday, has been slowed a bit this week with meniscus trouble in her knee. Other than that, Goo said the team is healthy and ready to play.

Should Hawaii defeat Illinois State, it will play the winner of the Louisville-Kentucky matchup.

In the other bracket, North Carolina faces St. John's and Nebraska squares off against UCLA.

Rainbow Wahine Classic Where: Stan Sheriff Center Tomorrow: North Carolina (5-0) vs. St. John's (3-0), 9 a.m.; Nebraska (3-0) vs. UCLA (1-2), 11:10 a.m.; Kentucky (3-0) vs. Louisville (2-1), 1:20 p.m.; Hawaii (3-0) vs. Illinois State (2-1), 3:30 p.m. Saturday: N.C.-St. John's loser vs. Nebraska-UCLA loser, 9 a.m.; Kentucky-Louisville loser vs. Hawaii-Illinois State loser, 11:10 a.m.; N.C.-St. John's winner vs. Nebraska-UCLA winner, 1:20 p.m.; Kentucky-Louisville winner vs. Hawaii-Illinois State winner, 3:30 p.m. Sunday: Seventh-place game, 9 a.m.; fifth-place game, 11:10 a.m.; third-place game, 1:20 p.m.; championship game, 3:30 p.m. TV: UH's Friday game live on KFVE Radio: UH's Friday and Sunday games live on KCCN. Tickets: $5-$7.

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1997-98 Wahine Basketball Schedule

http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu