UH takes on San Jose

Hawaii is the only Western Athletic Conference women's basketball team yet to play a road game.

That changes today at 5 p.m. Hawaii time when the Wahine play at San Jose State in the 5,000-seat Events Center.

Although Hawaii (5-4, 1-1 WAC) holds a commanding 32-8 edge in the all-time series, the Spartans (7-4, 1-1) have won the last three games.

UH and SJSU traded opponents last weekend, with both defeating Nevada and losing to Fresno State. Wahine coach Jim Bolla doesn't put much stock in comparative scores, insisting what matters is how his players perform on the court.

Hawaii will continue its road trip with games at Southern Methodist on Thursday and at Louisiana Tech next Saturday.

"This trip will be a big test for us. It's our first time on the road, the first time I've been with this team on the road, and it is a long trip," Bolla said.

"I told the kids they have to be ready and they know that they can play well. They found that out in the Nevada game last Saturday. They will have to be aggressive and be physical.

"There is no one in our conference who, if we aren't ready to play, can't beat us by 20 points. However, if we are ready, we are going to be in every game with a chance to win."

The players coming off the bench need to continue the kind of production exhibited in the Nevada win, when they contributed 15 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.

"We definitely need the bench people to step up on the trip," said Bolla, who has used the same starting lineup in the first nine games this season.

"Using the same lineup is a good starting point, but I can pull someone out right away. It's what you do when you are in there playing that counts," Bolla said. "But it does give the players a comfort zone."

The Wahine also need Jade Abele to discover her scoring touch again. The senior co-captain scored just 11 points in the first two WAC games.

Amber Jackson, a 6-foot-2 freshman forward, leads SJSU in scoring with 17.6 points per game (25.0 in league). Lamisha Augustine, a 6-1 senior forward, is next at 12.0 ppg. The Spartans also have 6-4 Nica Gemo in the post. She isn't a big scorer, but leads the teams with 69 rebounds and 11 blocked shots.

Bolla is taking 13 players, who will miss the first week of classes in the spring semester, on this trip. Each player will travel with a syllabus from each class so all assignments can be completed.

The coach also plans to have team meals, and he wants the players to experience something other than basketball. Thursday, they spent time in San Francisco checking out Fisherman's Wharf before a night practice.