WAHINE PLAYBOOK
Ala Moana Hotel
Paradise Classic
By Al Chase
Star-Bulletin
Teams: Fairfield Stags (7-2), Princeton Tigers (2-7), Vanderbilt Commodores (6-2), Hawaii Wahine (7-2).
Coaches: Fairfield, Dianne Nolan, 26th season (401-302, .570); Princeton, Liz Feeley, 8th season (84-116, .420); Vanderbilt, Jim Foster, 22nd season (435-197, 688); Hawaii, Vince Goo, 13th season (248-109, .695).
Series record: This is Hawaii's first meeting with Fairfield The Wahine lead Princeton, 1-0, and lost the only game played against Vanderbilt.
Top players: Fairfield, junior center Gail Strumpf (18.2 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots per game), junior guard Holli Tapley (12.8 ppg, 4.8 assists per game), sophomore guard Megan Light (9.8 ppg, 3.3 apg) ... Princeton senior guards Kate Thirolf (9.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Maggie Langlas (9.6 ppg, 1.2 steals per game), junior center Brooke Lockwood (7.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg) ... Vanderbilt, sophomore forward Zuzi Klimesova (16.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg), freshman center Chantelle Anderson (13.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.3 blocks per game), senior guard/forward Chavonne Hammond (11.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg) ... Hawaii, senior guard Raylene Howard (18.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg), junior forward Kylie Galloway (16.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg), senior guard Kyla Evers (10.8 ppg, 4.7 apg, 2.3 steals per game), junior center Dainora Puida (8.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg).
Interesting facts: Hawaii is riding a six-game winning streak and Vanderbilt has won five consecutive games ... Princeton's Susan Rea will be a four-year letter winner in soccer and basketball. A chemical engineer major with a certificate in engineering biology, she is a Marshall Scholarship recipient and will study at Cambridge University in England the next two or three years earning her Ph.D. ... Fairfield freshman forward Schrene Isidora was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Week last week when she was 14-of-16 from the field as the Stags went 2-0 and presented coach Dianne Nolan with her 400th career victory ... The Wahine are 71-26 (.732) at the Stan Sheriff Center ... In the latest women's Rating Percentage Index (RPI) published by Collegiate Basketball News, Hawaii is No. 23, Vanderbilt is No. 38, Fairfield is No. 145 and Princeton is No. 277 among the 313 NCAA Division I women's basketball programs.
Tournament keys: The Wahine offense has been solid. The defense needs to overcome occasional breakdowns like remembering how an opponent is supposed to be guarded ... Fairfield is off to its best start since the 1985-86 season and doesn't want to lose the momentum and confidence gained with the early success. The Stags should match up fairly well height wise ... Princeton has just one player over six feet tall and must depend on execution and high percentage shooting. The Tigers are outrebounded by 10 and outscored by 12 points per game ... Vanderbilt has excellent height led by 6-foot-6 freshman center Chantelle Anderson. The Commodores' losses were at defending national champion Purdue, 63-51, and at Duke, 68-59, otherwise they have won six games by an average of 30 points. They enter the tournament as a favorite along with Hawaii.
Tournament schedule: Monday, Princeton vs. Vanderbilt, 1 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Fairfield, 3 p.m. Tuesday, Fairfield vs. Vanderbilt, 1 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Princeton, 3 p.m. Wednesday, Princeton vs. Fairfield, 4 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Vanderbilt, 6 p.m., all game at the Stan Sheriff Center.
On the air: All three Hawaii games will be broadcast live on KFVE (Channel 5) and KCCN (1420 AM).
RealAudio: Live 'Net broadcast Click Here
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Ka Leo O Hawaii
