Saturday, December 19, 1998
It’s final exam time
By Al Chase
for the Wahine
Star-BulletinThe Hawaii Wahine have completed final exams and conclude the preseason by hosting their fourth, three-day tournament Monday through Wednesday.
Visiting teams in the seventh annual Ala Moana Hotel Paradise Classic are No. 10 Texas Tech, James Madison and Loyola Marymount.
The Red Raiders win often (222 victories in the last nine years) and rarely lose (just 45 times in the same period). The Dukes are picked to finish second in the Colonial Athletic Association behind long-time national powerhouse Old Dominion. The Lions are rebuilding and have already equaled last season's win total.
"We're about the only school to host three-day tournaments and that's because the visiting teams can exempt three games," UH associate coach George Wolfe said.
The three-day grind is a test in itself for participants, both physically and mentally. The Wahine (6-3) rediscovered the mental toughness on the third day of last week's tournament. The challenge is maintaining that edge with the holiday break looming.
"There is no such thing as an off-night when it comes to defense. It's all about hustle. If we do that, we'll be OK," center Hedy Liu said. "That means getting the loose balls, being in the right position, all the little things.
"We focus on playing with heart."
Important factors for the Wahine all season will be the mental aspect, the controlled emotional approach and the ability to know beforehand how to react to adversity during a game.
Hawaii's physical stamina has pleased Wolfe.
"Our strength and conditioning paid off against Ohio State," Wolfe said last night. "We've been understanding as coaches this week, but we became less understanding today and we'll go hard tomorrow."
Several Wahine found time to work on individual deficiencies since the Ohio State victory. Raylene Howard indicated she had lost some confidence in her outside shooting despite less opportunities this year with her move from the wing to inside.
"I was catching the ball, hesitating and that was putting my rhythm off," the 5-foot-11 forward said after the OSU game. Yesterday she had the answer.
"I figured out something was wrong and I've noticed a difference," said Howard, UH's leading scorer. "When I was squaring up to shoot, my stance was too close and I was unbalanced. It was a simple adjustment. Now I'm not (shooting) left, right and short. They're actually going in."
Crystal Lee, UH's second leading scorer, worked on improving her play around the middle, especially her jump shot from the top of the key.
"I can shoot 3s and I can drive or attempt to," said the 5-10 forward. "I'd also like to improve my 3-point percentage to about 40."
Kyla Evers, a 5-8 guard, took one look at the updated stats and knew exactly what areas needed improvement.
"Three-pointers and free throws are two percentages that are low that I want to get up," she said.
She's shooting 50 percent (14-of-28) from the free-throw line and hopes to improve to 75 percent. Evers also wants to increase her 31 percent success rate on 3-pointers (7-for-22).
For Liu, who gives away several inches to most defenders, making the most of limited scoring opportunities is a concern.
"I need to work on finishing inside, making those (chances) count," the 5-11 center said. "My free-throw percentage is not great at all. Most of it is in my head. I just have to feel confident. I'm not getting as many boards as I should be either."
Loyola Marymount (3-5): Julie Jarosz, a 6-6 center, is the top scorer (15.1 points per game). Freshman guard Bryn Britton has made an immediate contribution (14.6 points per game).
SERIES STANDINGS: UH is 6-0 vs. LMU, is playing James Madison for the first time and is 0-1 vs. Texas Tech.
Ala Moana Hotel Paradise Classic
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
