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Friday, January 21, 2000

Wahine struggle past Rice

WAHINE PLAYBOOK

By Pat Bigold

Star-Bulletin

Raylene Howard and Kylie Galloway combined for 34 points -- 23 of them in the second half -- as the Hawaii women's basketball team rallied for a 71-66 victory over Rice before 779 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center last night.

The Wahine (11-5, 3-1 Western Athletic Conference) won their second game in a row despite committing 18 turnovers and giving up 17 points off miscues to the Owls (8-6, 0-2).

"I thought we played with a lot of courage in the second half, but not a lot of composure in the first half," said Hawaii head coach Vince Goo.

Hawaii fell behind, 18-10, in the first half but put together a 16-9 run to trail by one, 27-26, at intermission.

The game was tied six times in the second half, the last time at 58-58 with 3:18 left.

Hedy Liu then hit a baseline jumper and Dainora Puida took a feed inside from Galloway for a layup and was fouled. She made the free throw and Hawaii had a five-point cushion Rice couldn't puncture.

Goo pointed out that the Wahine have had to perform lately with a variety of injuries and ailments.

"Kylie attended only one class today because she was weakened by flu-like symptoms, achy body," he said. "Raylene has practiced a total of 45 minutes in the last three days because of her head."

Howard banged her neck against a table leg during the Wahine's Jan. 13 loss at SMU.

"She's been having dizzy spells," Goo said. "Neither Raylene nor Kylie was 100 percent. Kyla Evers has a sprained ankle, Aina Kohler has a sprained ankle. But these kids played with a lot of heart. Rice's athletic ability was a notch above ours -- that was obvious -- but we just pulled together."

Howard and Galloway had 17 points apiece while Puida, Hawaii's 6-5 center, finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

"We had the fire in the first half but we weren't putting the ball on the floor and taking it to these people," said Howard. "I knew that it was time to suck it up and bear down in the second half."

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WAHINE PLAYBOOK

vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Coaches: Tulsa, Kathy McConnell-Miller, 1st season (7-8-0, .467); Hawaii, Vince Goo, 13th season (252-112, .692).

Season records: Tulsa (3-0 WAC, 7-8-0 overall); Hawaii, (3-1 WAC, 11-5 overall)

Series record: Hawaii leads the series, 2-0.

Top players: Tulsa, senior guard Kassie Pittman (13.4 points, 3.5 steals a game), senior forward Lila Osceola (13.3 ppg, 3.9 rebounds a game) ... Hawaii, senior guard Raylene Howard (17.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg); junior forward Kylie Galloway (14.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg); senior guard Kyla Evers (10.3 ppg, 3.9 assists a game), junior center Dainora Puida (9.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg).

Interesting facts: The Golden Hurricane are off to their best start (3-0) in their four years in the WAC. They picked up their first road win of the season en route to Hawaii, defeating host San Jose State, 71-55.

Game keys: Tulsa is a scrappy, hard working team that takes full advantage of opponents mistakes ... The Wahine have been turning the ball over more than head coach.Vince Goo likes to see. Look for UH to use the power game when it gets into a half-court offense.

Tipoff: Tomorrow, 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center.

On the air: None.

Tickets: $6 adults, $5 senior citizens, $4 students 4-18 and UH students with valid ID. Available at the Stan Sheriff Center, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by telephone, 944-2697 ($1 fee assessed per ticket). Only Mastercard and Visa accepted. The box office remains open for weekday games and opens two hours prior to Saturday games. $3 parking charge.

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By Al Chase, Star-Bulletin