RAINBOW WAHINE BASKETBALL
Rainbow Wahine looking for cure
The Hawaii women's basketball team has been trying to get back on track since its overtime loss to Louisiana Tech on Jan. 12. The derailment hasn't been fixed yet.
The Rainbow Wahine returned to Honolulu yesterday with a four-game losing streak after road losses to Fresno State and Boise State.
UTAH STATE AT HAWAII
When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE, Ch. 5
Radio: Live, KKEA, 1420-AM
Tickets: All seats general admission. $7 adults, $6 seniors. UH students with valid ID and children ages 4-18 free.
Parking: $3
Note: The teams have not played since 1980, when the Aggies won at Klum Gym 86-75.
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They host Utah State in a Western Athletic Conference game tomorrow night at 7 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Either the Wahine (10-6, 1-4) or the Aggies (1-14, 0-5), who have lost nine consecutive games, will end their losing ways in the first meeting in 26 years.
The Wahine -- minus three suspended players (Saundra Cariaga, Pam Tambini and Alofa Toiaivao) whose status was pending last night -- had a mental practice yesterday because no facility was available for a light physical practice.
"We had each player draw a play out of a hat and go over all the options for that play," UH coach Jim Bolla said. "I corrected them if they didn't know all the options.
"We have a tendency to run one, two or three options, then shoot. We are shortchanging ourselves and giving the conference teams an advantage by making it easier for them to scout us. We need to run all the options to see how our opponents defend them so we know what will work best at the end of a game."
Bolla also talked about finishing a game strong, something the Wahine did consistently during their first 12 games, but have struggled with lately.
"A lot of that has to do with executing. We haven't at the end and the teams we've played executed at the end," Bolla said.
There also was discussion about controlling the boards and not giving opponents two and three offensive sets with new 30-second shot clocks.
"When we get the ball, we're not as efficient because we're tired and often take the first shot. We're playing into our opponents' hands," said Bolla.
The Aggies' only win came on Dec. 12 when they beat Utah Valley State 74-51. The nine consecutive losses have been by an average of 13.4 points. Yet, the Aggies rallied in the second half before dropping a 2-point decision to Fresno State a week before the Bulldogs whipped the Wahine.
In the Aggies' last game -- against Nevada -- they led 50-48 with 5 minutes to play, then were outscored 16-4 the rest of the way.
The Wahine ran into the same problem in their loss to Boise State on Monday as they managed just two free throws in the final 7 minutes.
Taylor Richards, a 5-foot-4 sophomore guard, and Ali Marchant, a 6-3 senior center, lead the USU offense with 10.1 points a game.