RAINBOW WAHINE BASKETBALL
Quick recovery earns Kane a home game
Rachel Kane is playing basketball again this weekend in the Stan Sheriff Center, the same arena where she helped Punahou finish a 17-0 season by winning the 2003 state high school championship.
The redshirt junior has come home with the Gonzaga Bulldogs, one of eight teams in the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic.
Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves did not expect Kane to be ready this season until West Coast Conference play begins in January after she suffered her third anterior cruciate ligament injury to her right knee last fall.
Kane tore her right ACL as a Punahou freshman and tore the right medial collateral ligament and ACL halfway through her first season at Gonzaga.
HAWAIIAN AIRLINES RAINBOW WAHINE CLASSIC
SCHEDULE
When: Today-Sunday
Today: North Carolina vs. Sacramento State, 11 a.m.; UCLA vs. Gonzaga, 1:10 p.m.; Arkansas vs. Denver, 3:20 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Texas Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Tomorrow: Loser game 1 vs. loser game 2, 9 a.m.; Texas Tech vs. Arkansas or Denver, 11:10 a.m.; Hawaii vs. Arkansas or Denver, 1:20 p.m.; Winner game 1 vs. winner game 2, 3:30 p.m.
Sunday: Seventh place, 11 a.m.; Fifth place, 1:10 p.m.; Third place, 3:20 p.m.; Championship, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
Tickets: All seats general admission -- $8 adults, $6 seniors. UH students with valid ID and children ages 4-18 free
Parking: $3
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The latest injury happened in an exhibition game prior to the 2005-06 season.
"I was dribbling, penetrated and stopped to make a jump pass to a backdoor cutter. When I came down, the knee gave out. I called timeout," Kane said.
After surgery on Dec. 1, her doctor was very cautious since it was the third injury in the same spot. She spent last summer on campus rehabilitating the knee.
"Usually you sit out a year, but my rehab went really well over the summer and fall. I worked out pretty much every day. The doctor was pleased with the results and said I was ready to go," Kane said.
Her family and friends helped her overcome the frustration, encouraging her, telling her to be patient.
"I believe everything happened for a reason. You just deal with it and try to be as positive as you can," Kane said.
She kept a positive outlook by focusing on the things she could do -- academics, hanging out with friends, just being a college student -- and not worrying about things she had no control over.
The workouts with her trainer really helped her confidence. Getting back into basketball-playing shape was another issue.
"It really didn't happen until the end of October," said Kane, who has another season of eligibility after receiving a medical redshirt year last season.
"I'm just really happy and thankful to be out there playing. It will feel really good to play in front of my family," said Kane, who is majoring in civil engineering and minoring in business.
She can play point guard, but has seen action this year coming off the bench in five games at shooting guard. Against Portland State on Tuesday, Kane provided a timely spark.
"Rachel played great. Our lead was down to two and I inserted her for 6 or 7 minutes at the point and she got us up by 19," said Graves. "She had five assists and no turnovers.
"I think she is as close to 100 percent as she is going to get after three surgeries. She has become a better shooter and has always been a smart player."
Tatriana Lorenzo (Kamehameha '06) has been sharing time at the point with sophomore Sasha Polishchuk. Lorenzo has been averaging 15 minutes a game.
"Tatriana is a better defender and pushes the ball up well, but she needs to take care of the ball a little better," Graves said.