WAHINE BASKETBALL

Goo looks for increased
contribution from reserves

When the Wahine return to practice Wednesday they need to continue building on their 8-4 nonconference season. They experienced bumps on the success road, but demonstrated an ability to eliminate them.

"Sometimes you run into a wall, don't perform with a good effort and you learn from it," Hawaii head coach Vince Goo said.

There has been progress integrating the new players, especially centers Dainora Puida and Christen Roper, into the Wahine system. This is an ongoing process that should continue to produce positive results throughout the Western Athletic Conference season, Goo believes.

Goo expressed concern about getting playing time for the reserves during last week's tournament. When a starter is not having a good game, the bench has to provide an alternative, someone who can step in and do the job, even if just for a few minutes.

Aina Kohler came off the bench against Vanderbilt to score eight points and grab five rebounds in 18 minutes of action.

In the same game, Raylene Howard and Kylie Galloway were not enjoying their usual success shooting. They were a combined 6-for-27 from the field. Whether the ball would have dropped more often if they had received a short rest won't be known because they both played the full 40 minutes.

Hawaii also needs a backup point guard to step up and show she can run the team effectively for a few minutes each half.

Short break

The players had five days off to enjoy Christmas but also knew they had to do their running each day.

"We have nine practice sessions before we play again, so I don't see the layoff being a problem," Goo said.

After the Vanderbilt game, Goo told his players to be ready at 7 p.m. on Dec.29th.

"They all know what they have to do to take care of business. Whether they do it or not is up to them," Goo said.

When the Wahine host Texas-El Paso at the Stan Sheriff Center Jan. 8 in their WAC opener, they will be trying to deliver the 250th coaching victory in Goo's collegiate coaching career.

The recruiting trail

Hawaii assistant coach Da Houl took in the Nike Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions the week before the Ala Moana Paradise Classic. The 64-team tournament included 12 of the top 25 girls' high school teams in the nation. Hawaii is hoping to sign a wing and a post player this spring to go along with early signees, Christa Brossman, a 5-foot-9 shooting guard, and Melanie Croser, a 5-8 point guard.

WAC arena capacity

The Stan Sheriff Center has the second-most seats (10,300) of the eight arenas in the Western Athletic Conference. Texas-El Paso's Don Haskins Center (12,222) is the biggest. Fresno State's Selland Arena (10,200), site of the WAC men's and women's postseason tournaments, is third (FSU women's regular-season games are played on campus in North Gym, capacity 1,551). Other WAC arenas are Southern Methodist's Moody Coliseum (8,998), Tulsa's Donald W. Reynolds Center (8,310), Texas Christian's Daniel-Meyer (7,160), Rice's Autry Court (5,000) and San Jose State's The Event Center (5,000).

Former Wahine

George Wolfe, long-time associate Wahine coach. is 2-7 in his first season as head coach of the Portland State women's team. The Vikings were picked to finish third in the Big Sky Conference in the preseason poll ... Sarah Petersen, who played little in two seasons with the Wahine and transferred to NAIA Southern Oregon University this year, is the Raiders leading scorer, averaging 11.5 points per game. The 6-foot-3 center also is SOU's top rebounder (5.6 per game).

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By Al Chase, Star-Bulletin