Rainbow Wahine hoops team down from 4 tournaments to 2

Filling the tournament slots in the 2005-06 Hawaii Rainbow Wahine basketball schedule was a frustrating task for associate head coach Pat Charity.

For years Hawaii hosted four tournaments before the Western Athletic Conference season started. This year there will be two tournaments -- the season-opening Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic and the eight-team, three-day Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic following Thanksgiving Day.

These tournaments include several top teams from the Pac-10, Big 12, Big Ten and Big East.

"It will definitely be a big test. You have some games you think you should do well in, but want a schedule that will challenge you," head coach Jim Bolla said.

"We have three new teams and two new coaches in the WAC. The majority is brand new in terms of coaching styles in the conference. We want to have a good preseason so when we get to conference we are ready for it."

The two December tournaments are on hold for a year. Instead, the Wahine have two-night stands against the Campbell Fighting Camels of the Atlantic Sun Conference on Dec. 16 and 17 and against the Kent State Golden Flashes on Dec. 28 and 30. UH has not played a team back-to-back since the 1995-96 season.

"Four schools backed out of our tournaments," Charity said.

UH has taken steps to eliminate that problem in the future.

"All the contracts are in for next year (2006-07). Now, if a school backs out, there is a $15,000 fee (penalty) per game," Charity said.

UH begins with USC on Nov. 19. The Women of Troy return 11 players who went 20-11 and played in the NCAA tournament.

Eastern Illinois is the third team in the tournament. The Panthers play USC the next night and take on UH on Nov. 21.

Wisconsin (Big Ten), Idaho State, Washington State (Pac-10), Cal State Northridge, Eastern Michigan, DePaul (Big East) and Texas A&M (Big 12) join Hawaii in the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic Nov. 25-27.

The Wahine then travel for games at San Francisco and Santa Clara, the first time UH has taken a mainland road trip before the start of conference play since the 1993-94 season.

"We want to give our players an understanding of what a road game is like before we get to conference," Bolla said. "We also want to show the NCAA committee that we're willing to go on the road early."

UH begins WAC action with a game at Nevada on Jan. 5.

Wahine Basketball

2005-06 schedule
Nonconference games
Nov. 19-21: Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic; Nov. 19: vs. Southern California, 7 p.m.; Nov. 20: USC vs. Eastern Illinois, 5 p.m.; Nov. 21: vs. Eastern Illinois, 6 p.m.; Nov. 25-27: Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic; Nov. 25: Wisconsin vs. Idaho State, 9 a.m.; Hawaii vs. Washington State, 11:10 a.m.; Cal State Northridge vs. Texas A&M, 1:20 p.m.; DePaul vs. Eastern Michigan, 3:30 p.m.; Nov. 26: Games at 10:30 a.m., 12:40 p.m., 2:50 p.m. and Hawaii vs. Washington State or Idaho State, 5 p.m. Nov. 27: Seventh place, 11 a.m.; Fifth place, 1:10 p.m.; Third place, 3:20 p.m.; Championship, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 8: at San Francisco; Dec. 10: at Santa Clara; Dec. 16: vs. Campbell, 7 p.m.; Dec. 17: vs. Campbell, 7 p.m.; Dec. 28: vs. Kent State, 7 p.m.; Dec. 30: vs. Kent State, 7 p.m.

Western Athletic Conference games
Jan. 5: at Nevada; Jan. 12: Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m.; Jan. 14: New Mexico State, 7 p.m.; Jan. 21: at Fresno State; Jan 23: at Boise State; Jan. 26: Utah State, 7 p.m.; Jan. 28: Nevada, 7 p.m.
Feb. 2: at Idaho; Feb. 4: at San Jose State; Feb. 9: Fresno State, 7 p.m.; Feb. 11: Boise State, 7 p.m.; Feb. 18: at Utah State; Feb. 22: Idaho. 7 p.m.; Feb. 25: San Jose State, 7 p.m.
March 2: at New Mexico State; March 4: at Louisiana Tech; March 7-11: WAC tournament at Reno, Nev.