Wahine look to extend streak against Aggies

The Hawaii Rainbow Wahine have an opportunity to win a season series this afternoon after squaring the season series with their last four opponents.

Utah State at Hawaii When: Today, 3 p.m. Where: Stan Sheriff Center TV: KFVE, Ch. 5 Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM Tickets: All seats general admission. $8 adults, $6 seniors. UH students with valid ID and children ages 4-18 free. Parking: $3. Notes: The series is tied at 3-3. In the first meeting this year, the Wahine prevailed 62-57 at Logan, Utah, on Jan. 27.

The Wahine, riding a five-game winning streak, play the Utah State Aggies, who are on a three-game winning streak, in a Western Athletic Conference game at 3 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Aggies' arrival was delayed a day when fog at the San Francisco airport on Friday caused them to miss their connecting flight to Honolulu.

The Wahine (12-12 overall, 6-6 WAC) also can move above the .500 mark for the first time since the start of league play.

Acting head coach Pat Charity has limited the practice time to a little over an hour the past two days. Half of that time was spent watching film.

"I want to make sure everyone is fresh," Charity said. "We have scrimmaged about 30 minutes against Utah State's stuff. They play both man and zone. They did some pressing against us the last time trying to slow us down."

Despite the day's delay and the time change, the coaches have kept the routine for the players the same. Everything is working well for the team right now.

A big positive in last Thursday's win over Fresno State was the effectiveness of the Wahine offense. Senior co-captain Brittany Grice thought the offense worked 90 percent of the time.

The result was Hawaii had 22 assists on 29 field goals and had five players score in double figures for the first time this season. The Wahine scored 44 of their 79 points in the paint.

"We should be able to attack them (the Aggies) inside," Charity said.

"On defense, they screen a lot and set two screens to get one. We have to be aware of that. We have to do a better job of boxing out and bumping their cutters.

"Their leading scorer (6-foot senior forward Brittany Phillips, 11.3 points a game) shoots the 3 and she will be a good matchup for Pam (Tambini) and Dita (Liepkalne)."

Another Aggie the Wahine have to watch is 5-4 guard Taylor Richards, who averages 11.2 points a game and also shoots the trey (27-for-76).

Utah State (10-13, 6-5) is tied with Fresno State and Nevada for third place in the WAC standings. UH is a half-game behind in sixth place.

Note: UH head coach Jim Bolla is still on medical leave. His Utah State counterpart, Raegan Pebley, who gave birth Jan. 30, is not traveling with the team. George Brosky is USU's acting head coach.