Friday, January 8, 1999
By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Hawaii's Crystal Lee fights for the ball in front
of Kim Daniel of Texas-El Paso in last night's
game, won by UH.
Wahine
bury Miners
They hold UTEP to 14
By Al Chase
points in the first half
Star-BulletinWith this week's Western Athletic Conference opponents requesting tapes from Hawaii's last preseason basketball tournament, the Wahine coaching staff figured a new look or two was imperative.
A couple of new plays were unveiled. And, perhaps a surprise to the 1,007 fans in attendance at the Stan Sheriff Center, but not to Texas-El Paso head coach Sandra Rushing, the full-court press made its debut.
"With our inexperience, I would press us too," Rushing said. "They probably could have scored 125 and I respect him (UH head coach Vince Goo) and his players for not doing it."
"You play the nonconference schedule one way, then you need to build on that and add some things for conference," Goo said.
"We thought we'd bring out the press and give it a go. We got a few steals and a couple of times they only had 15 or 16 seconds on the shot clock (to run an offense) and that's what it's designed for," Raylene Howard said.
The Wahine held UTEP to an opponent-low 14 points in the first half. UH led, 31-14, at the break and scored the first 12 points of the second half to dispel any question as to the final outcome.
The 68-31 victory in the WAC Pacific Division opener was the fifth consecutive league-opening triumph for the Wahine.
"We were off for 15 days so we expected to be a little rusty on offense but there is no such excuse for defense," said UH center Hedy Liu, who recorded her first double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) of the season.
The Miners (6-7 overall, 0-1 WAC) concentrated on stopping Liu and Howard inside early. It worked for about six minutes due to UH's lukewarm perimeter shooting. Over the final 14 minutes of the first half, the Wahine (9-4, 1-0) outscored UTEP, 20-6.
Hawaii adjusted during intermission and spread the UTEP defense wider in the second half. This allowed more opportunities for the offense inside. The biggest beneficiary was Howard, who finished with a game-high 19 points after being held to two free throws in the first half.
"When we started going inside in the second half, that created some havoc for them," said UH point guard BJ Itoman, who scored 13 points.
NOTES: UH meets defending WAC champion New Mexico tomorrow at 7 p.m. ... Howard's first basket in the second half pushed her career point total past 1,000, the 11th Wahine to do so.
Hawaii 68, Texas-El Paso 31
Miners (6-7 overall, 0-1 WAC)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Gray 27 0 5 0 0 3 1 0 Caussey 16 1 4 0 0 1 0 3 Lattin 23 6 17 2 2 5 3 14 Mata 13 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 Daniel 23 1 8 2 2 0 0 4 Doumerc 13 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 Thomas 18 1 3 0 0 4 5 2 Lambros 22 2 7 0 0 2 0 4 Garza 13 1 6 0 0 2 0 2 Specht 23 1 5 0 0 6 1 2 Prieto 9 0 1 0 0 2 3 0 Team 3 Totals 200 13 59 4 4 32 14 31
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Lee 23 1 8 2 2 8 0 5 Howard 36 6 10 6 7 9 1 19 Liu 25 5 12 0 0 10 1 10 Itoman 32 5 8 0 0 2 0 13 Evers 22 2 6 2 3 2 3 6 Forsberg 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Ruscoe 13 1 7 0 0 5 1 2 Vasconcellos 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 Kohler 14 2 3 0 0 5 0 4 Petersen 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Greeny 21 2 4 1 2 4 0 6 Team 1 Totals 200 25 60 11 14 47 7 68Key: mp-minutes played. fgm-field goals made. fga-field goals attempted. ftm-free throws made. fta-free throws attempted. reb-rebounds. pf-personal fouls. pts-points scored.Halftime score--Hawaii 31, Texas-El Paso 14.
3-point goals--UTEP 1-9 (Caussey 1-1, Gray 0-1, Daniel 0-1, Garza 0-1, Lambros 0-5), UH 7-23 (Greeny 1-1, Spencer-Vasconcellos 1-1, Itoman 3-6, Howard 1-2, Lee 1-7, Evers 0-4).
Assists--UTEP 8 (Gray 3), UH 18 (Evers, Howard 4). Turnovers--UTEP 19 (Lattin 5), UH 17 (Lee, Howard 4). Steals--UTEP 11 (Gray 3), UH 11 (Lee 3). Blocked shots--UTEP 2 (Caussey, Specht 1), UH 4 (Liu 2).
Technicals--None.
A--1,007 (tickets issued 1,641). Officials: Gonzales, Petty, Johnson.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
