Tuesday, August 17, 1999

Vince Goo’s Wahine
will be tested early, often

Wahine 1999-2000 schedule

By Al Chase
Star-Bulletin

Challenging.

That one word was all Hawaii women's head basketball coach Vince Goo needed to describe the 1999-2000 Wahine schedule.

Hawaii plays seven teams, five in tournaments, that finished last season with power ratings in the top 90 out of the 304 Division I women's programs.

The Wahine could face two more teams in that top group depending on results of the eight-team Asahi Rainbow Wahine Basketball Classic.

The season opens with the Hawaiian Regent Wahine Basketball Classic (Nov. 19-21), an excellent early test for Goo's veteran team. Hawaii will be melding five recruits into its system while replacing one graduating senior, point guard BJ Itoman.

The round-robin event has Arizona (28th, 18-11 a year ago), Oklahoma (77th, 15-14) and Tennessee Tech (82nd, 20-9) visiting the Stan Sheriff Center.

"Arizona and Oklahoma return five starters and Tennessee Tech has four starters back," Goo said.

Virginia (41st, 20-9), Grambling State (61st, 22-5), Texas (62nd, 16-12), Washington (64th, 16-13) are in the Asahi field along with Long Beach State (109th, 18-11) and Virginia Commonwealth (168th, 10-17).

Only VCU, Fairfield (207th, 12-15) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee (214th, 11-16) were in the bottom half of last season's power ratings.

The Hawaii Invitational has Wichita State (85th, 16-12), Oregon State (145th, 11-16) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Vanderbilt (50th, 13-14), of the top-rated Southeastern Conference, headlines the Ala Moana Paradise Classic, which includes Fairfield and Princeton (141st, 16-11).

Southern Methodist (20-11), the defending Western Athletic Conference champion, and Rice (20-12) finished 24th and 76th in last year's power ratings, respectively.

The Wahine (17-10) were 81st.

"It's always good to play schools that did well the previous year and schools from conferences with high power ratings," Goo said.

NATIONAL NOTE: The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee has recommended Atlanta and New Orleans as the host cities for the 2003 and 2004 NCAA Women's Final Fours.

The 2000 Women's Final Four will be held at the First Union Center in Philadelphia.

The Kiel Center in St. Louis is the site of the 2001 tournament with the 2002 Women's Final Four scheduled for the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Wahine 1999-2000 schedule Nov. 19-21: Hawaiian Regent Wahine Basketball Classic Nov. 19: Oklahoma vs. Arizona, 2:30 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Tennessee Tech, 5 p.m. Nov. 20: Tennessee Tech vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Oklahoma, 3 p.m. Nov. 21: Oklahoma vs. Tennessee Tech, 1 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Arizona, 3 p.m. Nov. 26-28: Asahi Rainbow Wahine Basketball Classic Nov. 26: Texas vs. Long Beach State, 9 a.m.; Virginia vs. Grambling State, 11:10 a.m.; Washington vs. Portland, 1:20 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Virginia Commonwealth, 3:30 p.m. Nov. 27: Consolation bracket, Texas-Long Beach State loser vs. Virginia-Grambling State loser, 9 a.m.; Washington-Portland loser vs. Hawaii-Virginia Commonwealth loser, 11:10 a.m.; Championship bracket, Texas-Long Beach State winner vs. Virginia-Grambling State winner, 1:20 p.m.; Washington-Portland winner vs. Hawaii-Virginia Commonwealth winner, 3:30 p.m. Nov. 28: Seventh place, 9 a.m.; Fifth place, 11:10 a.m.; Third place, 1:20 p.m.; Championship, 3:30 p.m. Dec. 10-12: Hawaii Invitational Dec. 10: Oregon State vs. Wichita State, 1 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3 p.m. Dec. 11: Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. Wichita State, 5 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Oregon State, 7 p.m. Dec. 12: Oregon State vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 4 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Wichita State, 6 p.m. Dec. 21-23: Ala Moana Hotel Paradise Classic Dec. 21: Princeton vs. Vanderbilt, 1 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Fairfield, 3 p.m. Dec. 22: Fairfield vs. Vanderbilt, 1 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Princeton, 3 p.m. Dec. 23: Princeton vs. Fairfield, 4 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Vanderbilt, 6 p.m. Western Athletic Conference games Jan. 8: Texas-El Paso Jan. 13: at Southern Methodist Jan. 15: at Texas Christian Jan. 20: Rice Jan. 22: Tulsa Jan. 29: at San Jose State Feb. 3: at Texas-El Paso Feb. 5: at Fresno State Feb. 10: Texas Christian Feb. 12: Southern Methodist Feb. 17: at Tulsa Feb. 19: at Rice Feb. 26: San Jose State Mar. 4: Fresno State Mar. 8, 10-11: WAC Tournament at Fresno State Mar. 17-20: NCAA Tournament, first and second rounds, sites TBA Mar. 25 and 27: NCAA Tournament, West Regional at Portland, Ore. Mar. 31-Apr. 2: NCAA Tournament, semifinal and finals at Philadelphia. Home games at the Stan Sheriff Center.

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